Time Paradoxes Come Back To Haunt You
by rupzydaisy
Summary: Opal had years to plan and plot and spiral further into madness. Artemis had years to develop his projects, leading to him to tracking down a strange duo in the middle of a field. Things quickly begin to turn into a race to save the world and everything under it, again.  AU due to TLG, future!fic
1. They Were Wrong

_Hello, so... an Artemis Fowl and Doctor Who crossover :D Set in the future... and more details in the following chapters :D Reviews are appreciated :D _

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Time Paradoxes Come Back To Haunt You.

They thought I was hiding.  
They thought I was crazy.  
They thought I was defeated.  
They thought there was only one clone.  
They will _never_ know how clever I am.  
They didn't know I was planning before the start.  
They didn't know that I had let them win.  
They thought I was in a coma.  
They thought I had been beaten.  
They were wrong.  
I will crush them all.

_My_ time paradox.

I have everything planned out, precisely. This time I won't leave any backdoors open. This time there will be no clues left to find. No time left to attempt rescues. This plan, now finally ready. And no one will be able to stop me. No snivelling LEP, no ridiculous centaur and certainly no Mud Men. So very soon, the sky will fall and the earth will tremble and I, yes I will be Queen of everything. Or maybe Empress. The title doesn't matter much, but I will have everything above the earth and under it. Haven and Atlantis will be mine. As will London, Rome, Moscow, Washington and Beijing. And the world will stand up and applaud; Opal Koboi's era has begun...

... It is a shame that no one will be home, but I do have a promise to keep, Fowl boy.

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_Review please. Thanks. _


	2. Fire

_Next chapter... :D _

_Disclaimer for the whole story: Doctor Who and Artemis Fowl (and Co) - not mine. _

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Fire

Fowl Manor was lit up by the lights along the driveway and from some of the rooms in the house; they had been alternated on timer each night since the family left to go on holiday to the south of France a week before. It hadn't changed in appearance over the past centuries, just a new water feature and the trimmed lawn had been encouraged to run a little wild with lots of flowers and tall grass along the edges of the tree line. It looked like something out of a fairy tale, and with the escapades the Fowl family had been on, the setting probably suited them well.

A kidnapping of a fairy captain and an LEP time stop, for example. The house had also been under threat from Opal Koboi from the past, especially after she had donned a stolen suit and was high on anger and stolen magic. But it was also the house's occupants who had taken part in these escapades, and saved it. One Artemis Fowl, who had now grown up, and with his age, he had realised that a life of pure crime was not worth the consequences they delivered. In the end, all the money in the world was insignificant to his family.

But not all criminal activities were disregarded; occasionally a stolen painting or fraud from a company was read by Artemis with a secret smile. There were also two other Fowls who had grown up too, Myles and Beckett, but those stories are for another time. Now the manor was a home for all the family, Angeline and Artemis Fowl Senior were glad that they had saved their family in time, and had become a real family.

A smile. The shiny red button was pressed on the console. A silver cylindrical bomb flew from the craft. Its fins glinted from the spotlights on the drive. No wind, not even a breeze, so it flew straight through the front door, wood splintered and dropped to the floor. The marble tiled hallway, the gothic arches in the conference room, the pretty little chandeliers, even the memories would burn.

The bomb exploded with a force which knocked out several of the walls. The centre of the manor was obliterated. Glass shattered and tinkled onto the floor. Music to the ears. The furniture slowly disintegrated. If you listened closely you could hear a staircase collapse. Metal bent and twisted, more heavy crashes.

Fowl Manor, fairly remote in the countryside and just a short drive from Dublin, there would be no witnesses and a long enough delay for the fire fighters to reach reaching flames, nothing would be left.

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_Review please :D_


	3. Onyx Koboi

Onyx Koboi

Onyx Koboi sat in the mud bath at The Spritely Spa. The mud bath was still bubbling hot and she had spent most of her break just sinking in and sipping on drinks. It was a well deserved break too, and one that she had been literally forced to go on. She was a workaholic, the whole department knew, three centuries and not one day off meant that she had accumulated quite a long holiday. And then was told that she had to take it. Sighing as she looked around her, there was no one in sight, she grinned slightly and then pulled out her phone which had been hidden in her white Egyptian cotton towel. Yes, she could go on holiday for two weeks, but she refused to adhere to the spa's no technology, (apart from personal music players) because it was meant to be relaxing. No, where she went her phone did too.

She smiled as she watched reruns of a Mud Man programme, 'You've Been Framed'. Ah, Mud Men, nothing like watching them in their more stupider moments. But she like the rest of the People had to admit, they were good at making entertainment. She chuckled as she tossed her phone back under the towel when a waiter came over to refill her carrot and lime smoothie. She smiled back and then once he had disappeared round the corner she pulled her phone out again. Maybe a holiday wasn't so bad after all.

Onyx worked as a technician in the LEP, and after several background checks she had been promoted. She had been watched more carefully than other employees because of her surname. Koboi, the more famous sister, or infamous, still sent shivers down many of the People's spines. Opal was the one behind a goblin revolution, albeit a failed one, but nevertheless she had been dangerous. Now she sat in an isolation cube with no technology apart from the glow cubes which lit it up. No, Onyx was different, the LEP could see that. She didn't share any of the same crazy personality traits as her sister and no hostility towards the LEP. After the Opal Koboi affair, Onyx was watched a little more carefully but nothing had happened, after all she had disowned her family almost two centuries ago.

Haven newspapers had a field day with that news. 'Koboi disowns!' Was splattered across the sheets for a week, until news of the goblin and dwarf war flared up. She had agreed to one interview hoping that the paparazzi would leave her alone, and in it was asked the reason why she was disowning her parents and sister. She replied, _'Because they are all dysfunctional and I don't want to lose my mind too!_'. It was understood, Opal had killed off her father's company and Koboi Industries was a booming business but there was no love lost between the two sisters.

There had been a time when the two were close, Onyx tried to follow in the footsteps of her older sister Opal who went into engineering, she completed a degree in computers. But she soon realised that her sister was almost consumed with anger after her parents tutted at the engineering diploma and after her father was admitted to Dr's clinic, well things only went down from there on and Onyx just wanted distance from the madness. Her mother wasn't much use either, she used the admission as grounds to file a divorce and ran off to Atlantis with an Italian sprite who had a business in architecture.

Onyx liked her job, she liked to fix computers and there were more than plenty with the whole of Haven using them. Currently she was on loan to the secret Section Eight department of the LEP, she had to sign a confidentially agreement before stepping into the car. She was part of a small group, two elves and three sprites working under the centaur Foaly. They were upgrading the cables and fixing fibre optics so that the efficiency was improved. The centaur loved efficiency and constantly showed them his new inventions, the others in the group awed and clapped as appropriate but Onyx paid attention because, well the inventions were actually interesting.

The clip off a fairly hairy Mud Man froze in the middle of him falling flat faced into a river. The phone bleeped twice and a message popped up on the screen. Onyx's face froze from a laugh and then her mouth dropped open in shock. The phone's question repeatedly scrolled across the screen; _Read Message From: Opal Koboi._ Onyx pressed the yes button in a daze.

She read the message twice just to make sure that the words were real and then chucked the phone on the side, grabbing her towel and shouting to the waiter to get her hosed down. Ten minutes later she was dressed and running out of the calm spa, dodging relaxed and happy customers and ignoring the calls of a disgruntled receptionist, "No running, calm and peaceful walking please. Please enjoy your stay at the Spritely Spa." She kept on running until she got to Foaly's office at Section Eight; thrust her phone out at the surprised centaur and in between breaths said. "Tell...me...this isn't...true."

She knew things were bad when he grabbed the keyboard and started typing furiously, muttering.

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_Review please :D _


	4. Oh Gods

Oh Gods

Actually, Foaly already knew of the text when Onyx rushed in, it set off old Trackers and a little window had popped up on one of the screens. He stared at it for a moment before attempting to confirm its validity. His tail swished unconsciously from side to side.

_This can't happen, _he thought, _Opal has no technology to send a text from._.._So then who sent it?_ He attempted to trace back the text to a phone number, but that didn't work, there was too much interference. The magma flares were starting up and he scowled at the jerky lines that danced across his screen. He adjusted his tin foil hat as he thought.

Then he looked up the number who it was sent to; Onyx Koboi, the screen flashed it at him tonelessly. For a split second his paranoid side took over, _Should never have Onyx into Section Eight, got to flush the whole system. Working for her sister. Who knows what bugs she's put in? Both of them are bad, never trust a Koboi. Never. Ever._

He snapped out of it when Onyx ran in and shoved her phone into his face asking whether the text was true, the panic on her own face made him realise she was on the same side as he was. No one wanted Opal free and loose on the world.

Foaly snatched her phone and plugged it into the computer while Onyx staggered to the side of the desk and leaned against it, getting her breath back. He clopped around the room looking for wires and then hooked the phone to another device scanning it.

"So, how was the holiday?" Foaly asked, talking was his way to downplay stress.

"Not bad, a little boring." Onyx replied shaking her head after she got her breath back.

"Where did you go?" He pulled the phone out of the device and plugged it into another and turned back to see her walked over to stand next to him.

"Spritely Spa."

"Ahh, Caballine likes the mud baths there," he said nodding his head, Onyx hummed in reply.

The screen bleeped and they both looked up at it, eyes slowly widened.

"Well, it's definitely been sent from Opal's mobile to yours. But she can't have. She has no phone to send anything from. I know, I made sure of it. She's locked up in an isolation cube." Foaly argued. Then he froze and didn't speak or move. Even his tail stopped swishing anxiously from side to side.

"Oh Gods," he breathed in shock.

"What Foaly?" Onyx asked worried, "What's wrong?"

The centaur started typing again, a ringing sound echoed in the room. "Opal from the past," he said as he looked up from the keyboard.

"What?"

"Seven years ago, Artemis Fowl and Captain Holly Short went back in time to rescue a lemur. You've seen Jayjay haven't you?" Foaly began to explain.

Onyx nodded, the little lemur liked the demon warlock Number One and lived with him. She was the one who installed his plasma TV. First time she had ever seen a demon and he had asked her if she wanted to stay for a 'nice cooked meal'.

"Well, Opal was also after Jayjay and to cut a long story short, she was the reason why they went back in the first place. She had created a time paradox by mimicking the symptoms of Spelltropy onto Artemis's mother. The Mud Boy then decided to go back into the past to bring JayJay back as a cure. When they came back, Opal from the past followed through and then ran before being caught. Artemis chased and trapped her under a pile of rocks but by the time an LEP dwarf went to tunnel her out, she had gone. We searched for a whole year, couldn't find her." He continued to type while he spoke to Onyx and, her eyebrows were pulled down and her eyes wide.

"I didn't know of any of this!"

"Classified information from Section Eight," he answered. "D'Arvit! Trouble, hurry up and get out of the meeting, something more important has come up." Foaly muttered under his breath.

Onyx moved forward to her computer station and pulled up the files to read."So, you didn't find her? But then how? I don't understand... How many Opal's are there then?"

"The Opal who came from the past, after she followed Artemis and Holly back here through the time tunnel Number One created, I thought that she had been sucked back in. Number One had, tagged Holly and she had pulled Artemis through, _that_ was down to his demon magic." He paused to run his hand over his face and looked back at the text on the screen.

"But Opal was different, she _followed_ them through, Number One had nothing to do with her. So, in simple terms that you will understand, I assumed that the time tunnel had pulled her back. Matter attracting matter from its own time."

"Right, that could be a logical assumption, I know there's not been much research into that." Onyx nodded slowly.

"To answer your question, there's two Opal's but one's different. One is from the past. The other is from the present. She is the one sitting in the isolation cube. And I am going to tell Trouble to deadlock it right now." Foaly finished and almost smiled when he saw Onyx's confused face. Almost.

Commander Trouble's face appeared on the main screen filling it, he smiled at Foaly. "Hello centaur, what can I do for you?" he asked pleasantly.

"You can answer your messages for one. But I've got more important things. Bad things." Foaly started.

Trouble's smile slipped off his face and he became serious."What's the problem Foaly?"

Two Opals that's twice as bad as one. Hope that deadlock works. While Foaly explained to Commander Kelp, Onyx reread the text, feeling quite worried and very scared.

**I'm back little sister, run while you can. The Fowl boy will burn, the Captain shall die and the centaur will lose his mind. Everything shall be mine, Haven, Atlantis and the world above. Opal Koboi shall be Empress and you shall bow before me.**

A little voice in the back of her mind whispered_, 'See this is the reason why you disowned them, she was mental...And still is.'_


	5. Deadlock And Distractions

Deadlocks And Distractions

"Show me the text again." Trouble demanded as he dragged his hand over his face. Eight years without a major mess, and now, well, this was probably the biggest ever. When Foaly first started to explain that Opal had sent the text, Trouble was confused. Two Opals' were bad, very bad. Now the Opal from the actual, present time line was sitting locked up in an isolation cube. No threat from her. If Foaly thought it was a good idea to deadlock it then fine by him, the commander wasn't about to disagree with him.

He muted Foaly on the screen as the centaur carried on typing furiously, a real keyboard, not one of his v-boards. He rang the control booth of Opal's isolation cube, fingers drumming impatiently, or nervously, on the desk.

"Yes," answered a bored sprite on the other end of the line.

"This is Commander Kelp speaking," he started and then heard a crash on the other end of the line.

"Sorry sir, Commander, yes, this is Fern Culp. How...er...how can I help you?"

"Deadlock the cube." Kelp ordered.

"Deadlock the cube?" Culp repeated a little confused.

"You heard me, do it. Now."

"Yes sir, of course Commander."

He heard buttons being pressed and switches flicked. "Is it done?" He asked.

"Almost there."

Kelp turned to face the screen and pulled up the security cameras which watched over the cube. It glowed faintly in the water, a metal roof and thick plexiglass walls. All Foaly's design of course. The paranoid centaur was good for things like this. He double checked and triple checked it.

"I have deadlocked the cube commander." Culp announced. "It'll close down now."

Kelp watched as the metal extended over the roof and pulled down over the sides, the glow was muted and then completely shut out. The cube sat suspended in the water, a metal box with a deadlock seal. Nothing could get in, nothing could get out, and no laser or bomb could break it. Not without vaporising the criminal inside.

"Good. I want you to make sure that it stays that way," he ordered and Fern Culp stuttered a reply.

He hung up the phone and then pulled up Foaly's screen again. The centaur looked more worried than before if it were possible. He kept waving his hairy hand in front of the screen to get Kelp's attention. Trouble unmuted the sound. "Yes?" He asked unwillingly.

"Commander, I'm not sure how to say this to you. Fire-fighters have been assigned to Fowl Manor. Look." Foaly said as he pulled up a short video clip off one of his Scopes.

Kelp looked at the screen. "What?"

"Fowl Manor was hit by a bomb. Nothing human could do this much damage so quickly. So I checked a little earlier. Can you see that?" Foaly asked.

"See what?" Kelp replied as he looked at a dark image of Fowl Manor burning to the ground. Red fire truck surrounded it with tiny people with hoses moving forwards. Foaly enlarged a section of the screen, splitting the monitor into two so that they could review the tape and watch the fire slowly being put out.

"That there." Foaly commented.

Commander Trouble Kelp looked at a silver finned bomb in flight towards the manor. It wasn't human design; it was too smooth and too sleek. He watched it fly towards the manor and smash through the front door.

"Was anyone there?" he asked tearing his eyes from the screen. Last time he saw Fowl Manor, he was head of the Recon team attempting to get, a then Captain, Holly Short.

"No, no one home, all in the south of France, thank the gods for that but..."

"Yes, yes. I suppose this proves that the text and the sender are real. Opal Koboi is back," he said seriously.

"Technically she was never gone. In fact, in a matter of speaking she's come forwards, not back, if you go according to a linear timeline." Foaly rambled on.

"Foaly." Commander Kelp barked.

"Yes Commander. The Cube's deadlocked now. Not even a stink worm could wriggle its way in there. That Opal is going nowhere. Although this Opal's obviously got a plan. And has had several years to think it through and plan it. What are we going to do?" Foaly continued to think aloud.

"So what you're saying is, that the Opal who sent me the text is my sister but from the past, who is now in the future?" A voice spoke from outside the screen. Foaly turned his head and nodded.

"Who's that? Sister? Opal's sister?" Kelp asked.

"Not any more. I disowned them all centuries ago." A short elf said as she stepped up to the screen. He could see the family resemblance in the black hair and the facial features. But you could also see the stark difference between Opal and her sister. Opal's eyes were like lasers, just waiting to burn you. This one was different; they seemed more open and a little frightened. He wasn't surprised.

"Yes, I remember the newspapers. Onyx Koboi." Kelp muttered.

"Hmm, everyone does," she replied, "Err Commander." Onyx tacked on.

"We need to get more information Foaly." Kelp stated seriously. "We're going to have to stop Koboi, Opal and... I suppose we're going to need some help," he added reluctantly.

"Get Lieutenant Short on the line, explain the situation and tell her to liaise with Artemis Fowl. We may need the Mud Boy; he's been helpful so far. He wasn't in Ireland though, so track him down."

"He'll have a consultant's fee." Foaly chuckled nervously as he began to type.

"Tell him that there won't be a world to spend his fee in if Opal's plan works out. That should set the Mud Boy straight." Trouble said straightforwardly.

"Yes Commander." Foaly replied quickly as he clopped off to the other side of the room.

"Koboi." Kelp called out and Onyx turned away from watching Foaly hook up his v-board.

"Yes Commander," she said quietly.

Trouble waved his hand."You know Opal well, don't you?"

"I suppose, but I haven't spoken to her since disowning her," she replied.

"But you got a degree in computers. You're a genius too. Am I right?"

Onyx paused. "Yes. Well. I suppose," she said slowly.

"Take a guess at what your sister would do next." Kelp asked.

There was a longer pause as she thought. "If it were me Commander, I suppose I'd use a distraction. But it would have to be big." Onyx frowned.

"How big?" Kelp pressed.

"Um, something that would take out Haven, something that would distract the LEP, you'd have to have a pressing problem than Opal, something to deal with immediately. But I don't see how-"

It was at that precise second that the lights switched off. The entire People's city of Haven plunged into darkness.


	6. Riot Gear At The Ready

_Hello you lovely lot, __I would like to thank those who reviewed so far, for all the chapters: THANK YOU._

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Riot Gear At The Ready

"Foaly?" Onyx called out in the dark.

The lights flickered dimly. "The backup generator should switch on. We've got enough juice to last three years. Now what was that about distractions," he said turning round.

"I think this would count as one." Onyx replied looking up as the glow strip light got a little brighter.

"Now Commander, it looks, like the whole of Haven was hit by that power cut. And the backup generators for the hospital, LEP buildings and other emergency buildings should be switching on now. But apart from that no electricity at all." Foaly explained as he read out information from the screens. Trouble nodded in acknowledgement and then told Foaly to keep him informed.

Back in his office Trouble stared out of the open door, his team were putting in place the orders for emergency situation. His phone rang and he reached for it. On the other line was Commander Plunk who was in charge of the LEP operatives in Atlantis.

"Kelp, we have a situation here," he spoke in grave tones. He was a sprite and Trouble could see his wings flapping frantically behind him, even if his face was a stony mask of seriousness and experience.

"Go ahead Commander Plunk." Trouble replied, he could feel a headache beginning.

"Penatle Prison and the Holloway facility have shut down. The prisoners are attempting to beat down the doors and we estimate that they'll be free in half an hour. It's not looking good Commander." Plunk stated.

Trouble froze for a split second considering the consequences of what Plunk was telling him. Penatle Prison was a dwarf prison, and many of the more vicious and criminally inclined dwarfs ended up there. Now the People were a more civilised race and this meant that there were only around three hundred dwarfs in that prison. By them escaping it wouldn't seem such a bad thing, they could easily be rounded up and locked up again. But it wasn't just them escaping alone, nope, because the Holloway facility pretty much had all of the B'wa Kell uprising instigators, around two hundred, locked inside. And with the goblin/dwarf gang wars flaring up in the past few weeks it was easy to see how this would end up.

"Evacuate all civilians and put the support officers in place with riot gear. Barricade-" Trouble began but he was cut off.

"Riot gear? Are you serious? Over five _hundred_ criminals!" A goblin chirped behind Plunk who quickly turned around.

"Captain, keep your mouth shut," he warned before turning back to Trouble who continued on regardless.

"Barricade the avenue and prepare to hold back the prisoners. Use fireproof foam over the sides just in case the goblins start shooting and make sure that before the dwarfs escape Penatle you seal the tarmac. I'll send over two shuttles of LEP officers from Haven but the ETA will be unconfirmed, maybe around two hours. Keep me updated Plunk."

Plunk nodded and cut off the channel, he had work to do. Trouble sat for a moment at his desk and continued to stare at the open door.

Trouble then pressed speed dial 2.

"Holly Short speaking," she answered as she ran down the pavement. Foaly had rang her immediately after Trouble hung up on him. She was dodging panicked citizens who kept getting in her way asking for more information about the power cut.

"It's Trouble. You'd better be on your way in. We've got a situation." His voice was grave.

"I know, Foaly called. I'm coming. Opal's never done is she?" she replied sarcastically. "Ten years and nothing from her. Not a squeak or a signal. Now she's back...although Foaly says she never went anywhere."

"Holly, there's more, did Foaly tell you the whole text message?" Trouble asked warily, if the centaur hadn't he was going to tell her the news.

"Yes he read it out. I can take care of myself, _Trubs..._but it's our Mud friends I'm more worried about." Holly said, and he could hear the worry in her voice.

"Both Penatle and Holloway are down; the whole avenue's going to be flooded with prisoners who will be more than happy to rip chunks out of each other. And the Mud Men can take care of themselves, they've done it before without our help, they can do it again Major, we have our _own_ problems." Trouble continued despite the dig.

They all had ways to cope with stress, and Koboi was the source of the stress. Holly was sarcastic and Trouble like to update and be updated on the situation.

"Yes Commander, sir. I'm almost there." Holly said as she sidestepped a pair of teenagers who were still pressing buttons on their phones hoping for them to work. The emergency sun strips glowed dimly in the dark, and Holly continued to run a little faster. _Well Koboi, this is definitely a distraction. But what have you really got planned, because I bet my acorns that you've got some other nasty surprise for us..._


	7. Crash Landed Surprise

_For clarification, Artemis is 24 years old. Myles and Beckett are 15/16 ish. :)_

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Crash Landed Surprise

_Inside the TARDIS, Time-Space Vortex_

"So Pond, where do you want to go?" the Doctor asked as he ran around the console, occasionally pulling a lever and moved over to check the readout on the screen.

"Rio! Rio! Rio!" Amy shouted back and he pulled a face, although she didn't notice it.

"Why do you want to go Rio?" he scoffed back at her. "We've got the whole of time and space here. We could go anywhere, anywhen. Do you understand that Pond? Anywhere."

"I want to go Rio. Doctor, you promised me Rio." Amy said seriously.

"Fine, fine, fine. We'll go Rio, later. But now, right now where do you want to go?" he asked excitedly.

"I want to go..." Amy hopped off the battered old sofa and leaned over the console to look at the screen. The Doctor pushed it towards her and she peered closely at it. "Well...apart from Rio, I want to go there." She pointed at an explosion in the Dap Nebula where three stars and an extremely large gas giant were colliding before being sucked up by a black hole. On the screen they could see blue wisps of gas ignite and turn a fiery red, and then were pulled into a long curve before exiting real space.

"Yeah, I wanna go there," she repeated smiling at him, he grinned back at her.

"Of course, why didn't I think of that in the first place?" he asked her and she opened her mouth to reply. "Don't." He warned and she closed her mouth and grabbed onto the screen as the TARDIS juddered and rocked them from side to side. Then it lurched unexpectedly. Throwing them onto the floor and as the lights switched off, into darkness.

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_South of France, around 30 miles away from the French Fowl Manor _

"So what exactly is project of yours?" Juliet asked as they left the car parked on the side of a row of trees and began to walk into the forest. She had been meaning to ask before, but she didn't think that Artemis would have answered.

"There was a rift in time; Foaly's predecessor had recorded some energy readings, so I began to create new software which could search for them. I had finished it a few hours ago, loaded it up onto the computer and it flagged up this area. I double checked that it was working correctly and then called you both for this little trip."

"Trip?" Juliet asked, raising her eyebrows. Artemis smiled his vampire smile at her.

"Of course this was a trip Juliet. This is the countryside, is it not? With trees and grass and trails. I believe that many people holiday here in the South of France just to see the scenery." Artemis told her seriously.

"Yep, a trip. What was I thinking?" Juliet muttered and continued to scan her eyes over the area.

"I think I've found something." A deep gravelly voice called out loudly from behind the trees.

"Where Butler?" Artemis asked into his walkie talkie, he and Juliet were walking a little behind as Butler scoured the area with a heat sensor.

"About four hundred yards dead ahead." Butler replied.

"How large is it?" Artemis asked as Butler passed back the handheld computer so that Artemis could see for himself.

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_Inside the TARDIS_

Amy moaned as she dragged herself upright using the console to lean on as she rubbed the elbow she had landed on.

"That, was the worst landing, you have ever done!" She called out into the darkness. "What happened there, there's no lights, did you blow a fuse or something?" she asked the Doctor who sounded like he was dragging himself up onto the sofa.

"No, blowing a fuse is a lot messier. No, this seemed more like... Oh." He stopped and Amy could hear silence.

"Why is it so quiet?" she commented. Usually there was some background humming, now the TARDIS just seemed, dead. No noise, at all. "What's happened to the engine Doctor?" she asked and the Doctor was silent for a few moments.

"Maybe, it was the same crack? Maybe... No, can't be... Pete's world?" She heard him whisper hopefully.

"Pete's world?" she repeated thoroughly confused.

"Amy, I am so sorry," he started. "I am so sorry. I should have noticed this before. We must have slipped through the crack." The Doctor sighed heavily. "I swear I closed it up," he added.

"Doctor, where are we?" Amy asked, demanding an answer.

"We, the last time this happened, the TARDIS ending up like this, was when we slipped through a crack between our universe and another. I ended up in a parallel universe, you know, everything's the same, just a little different. Cut a long story short, the TARDIS can't work in this universe. It runs on energy from out time space vortex, not this one." The Doctor explained and then reached out to put a hand on Amy's shoulder. She jumped a little because she couldn't see him in the dark.

"What? Parallel universe. But...can we go back?" she asked him quietly. "We can go back, can't we?"

"I think we'd better see where we are first. If we're in Pete's world, or somewhere else entirely. There could be anything outside. Anything at all. Could be nothingness, could be a new world, could be an alien world, anything," he repeated. Enthusiasm infused his voice and Amy couldn't help but be taken along.

"Well, if we're here, might as well take a look," she reasoned.

"Why not Pond?" the Doctor agreed and they walked down the ramp and out of the TARDIS, the Doctor locked the doors behind him.

* * *

_South of France, around 30.4 miles away from the French Fowl Manor_

On the screen there were two blobs, red as the computer picked up heat. "That looks like people." Butler commented as he scrutinised the screen.

"But anything's what we came prepared for." Juliet said grinning.

"Almost anything." Butler corrected and smiled at Juliet's scowl. He thought it was nice for he and his sister to be working together, and it was especially good for Artemis. The young man knew that he could depend on the two. They had pretty much been through everything and anything the world, and what was below it, could throw at them.

"More than likely it is only a fragment of rock or other space matter. However I would still be interested in running scans." Artemis mused.

"Mmm, alien dirt. I know what I'm getting you for your twenty fifth Arty." Juliet teased and brought up the gun as they cleared the last line of trees and walked into a small clearing.

"Now that's not a rock," she continued looking at the two people who were walking in their direction. One was a man in a tweed jacket with a bright red bow tie and the other was a woman with ginger hair.

"Correct." Artemis agreed frowning as he looked at the two.

"Butler," he said quietly. The large bodyguard took up his position in front of the two younger adults.

"They look normal," he muttered under his breath to his employer.

"Yet they are here, why would they be here?" Artemis wondered and took a step closer, the computer in his hand bleeped as it announced they had reached the heat source. Juliet quickly pulled Artemis behind her as the two were now closer, only a few hundred feet away. They had noticed the group and the man in the tweed jacket waved cheerily at them.

_Maybe they had been here when the rift opened; perhaps they had even seen something. Or possibly, they had come through it themselves, _Artemis thought to himself. "Hello." He announced loudly to them as they were now right in front of him.

"Hello!" The man replied happily, the woman smiled too. Both were not intimidated by Butler, and if they were, they didn't show it. Instead the man had raised up both his hands in response to Juliet's gun. Artemis waved his hand and she lowered it.

"I'm the Doctor." The man in tweed announced.

"Doctor...?" Artemis asked taking in both newcomers.

"Just the Doctor," he replied. "Oh and this is Pond, say hello Amy." The Doctor added and Amy waved.

"Hiya." Artemis noted that she had a Scottish accent, whereas the man, Doctor sounded English.

"You've got an Irish accent," the Doctor said, leaning forwards to peer at Artemis.

"That is correct." Artemis replied.

"Oh, so we're in Ireland. I like Ireland. Very nice, very green. Pond, have you been Ireland before? Luck of the Irish," the Doctor babbled cheerfully. Amy shook her head at him.

"You promised me Rio," she huffed, apparently not as enthusiastic about Ireland as the Doctor was.

"Slight detour, we'll get there, eventually," the Doctor told her before turning back to smile at Artemis who was looking at him as though he was mad. _They were in France, not Ireland, how could anyone not know where they were?_

"We're in France." Juliet interrupted and the Doctor turned to face her, his face looked confused for a moment and then he nodded.

"Hello. So, who are you?" he asked.

Juliet looked at Artemis, he nodded at her, "I am Artemis Fowl the Second, this is Butler and Juliet."

"You say you're the Doctor, doctor of what?" Butler asked in his low gravelly voice.

"Oh, a lot of things." The Doctor replied waving his hand causally.

"Did you happen to see anything unusual here?" Artemis asked curiously, the two seemed to know something he didn't and he didn't like it.

"Unusual? No," the Doctor replied, "What's that you've got there?" he asked Artemis, stretching out a hand to take the scanner from the genius.

"A scanner." Artemis replied, Butler had stepped in the way between the two and glared down at the Doctor.

"Really? Could I have a look, please?" he asked politely.

Artemis thought about it for a moment, before slowly handing the device over. "You probably won't be able to understand it. It's a project I've been working on," he commented.

"Oh, wow. Now this is good. This is very clever." The Doctor muttered looking up from the scanner to Artemis and then back down again as he examined it. "Oh, and you...now that's really clever. A temporal scanner Pond!" He waved it in front of his friend's face. "I haven't seen one of these for a while. And you've even designed it so it looks good, very clever. Normally they're nasty clunky things. This, it's even hand held! Well done," he complimented as he handed it back.

Artemis stared back, his face impassive yet inside he was shocked, this strange man knew what the scanner was, and what it did. _Yet the comment about how 'they're normally nasty clunky things' was exceptionally odd, and just a little impossible._

"Thank you." Artemis replied then paused again to decide what information he would sacrifice, before speaking, "There was a rift through time, I've been working on a way to pin point them. It appears that they are very rare. The last one according to notes I found was in 1780 at the Easter Islands. It was only there for a few seconds before it closed up." Artemis explained slowly while scrutinising the Doctor's expression.

"Rift in time?" he parroted back in disbelief.

"Anomaly to be precise." Artemis elaborated slightly. The Doctor let out a chuckle, and then he laughed loudly. Artemis frowned. "What is funny?" he demanded.

"No, it's just that-" The Doctor paused to take in a breath, "You thought it was a rift in time."

Artemis was getting more and more unamused by the second. "And that's funny because..."

"It's not." The Doctor stopped chuckling abruptly. "Nope because the thing is. I sealed up the cracks, I sealed up the Void. And I know I did a pretty good job because not even I could-" he broke off; the smile had gone. "Go back, through." Artemis raised an eyebrow and he watched as the Doctor turned around on the spot.

"See, the thing is, I sealed it up, and no one was ever meant to cross through, ever, never again. So how did this happen. It can't have been a mistake, could it?" He turned to face Amy as though she had the answer but she just stared back at him not knowing what to say to him.

"Void?" Artemis asked.

"Yes, the Void." The Doctor replied still staring into space and not looking at any of them. Then he turned to Amy and took her by the arm. "Come on Pond, we'd better be getting back."

"Actually, I think you have a lot of explaining to do. You're not going anywhere else." Artemis said seriously and the Doctor looked at Butler and Juliet who had raised their guns. He sighed and stepped in front of Amy, putting himself between the gun barrels and his friend.

"Great, apes with guns and who like to ask questions," he muttered. He scowled at the young Irish man and Amy whacked him on his back.

"Apes?" She questioned him, seemingly aggravated.

"Not you!" The Doctor said quickly. "Them." He waved an arm at the trio.

Artemis scoffed. "I am most certainly not an ape," he corrected as Butler and Juliet escorted their new guests back to the car.


	8. Bad News

Bad News

_Fowl French Manor, an hour later._

Butler glanced at the little screen which was hanging off the wall; it was linked to the security room and showed feeds from the whole house. This way he could effectively see all his charges and prepare dinner at the same time. He chopped another handful of mushrooms and stirred them into the risotto. On the screen he saw that Artemis was in his study, flicking through a book and sending a few emails. Myles and Beckett were in the lounge playing a video game that Beckett had made. It was clear to see who was winning from Beckett triumphant grin.

He enlarged another screen from the room next door to the study. Juliet was sitting on an armchair in the guest room with their guests. The Doctor was rummaging through the book shelves while Amy was talking to Juliet. Juliet's mouth moved every now and again and occasionally they laughed. The Doctor sometimes turned around, but otherwise he was engrossed in the books. The laptop which he had 'borrowed' from Artemis was lying discarded on the table.

The telephone rang once and then twice before Butler wiped his hands on a tea towel and picked it up. "Fowl residence." Butler answered

"Good evening sir. Am I speaking to Mr Fowl?" An Irish voice enquired.

"Who is calling?"

"I'm an officer in the Irish Garda, I have some bad news." The officer replied slowly. Butler frowned, switched off the cooker and dumped the tea towel as he moved towards the door.

"What news?" he asked warily.

"Sir? Am I speaking to Mr Fowl?"

Butler scowled and told the officer to hold the line as he briskly walked out of the kitchen, up the stairs and down the corridor towards Artemis' room. He knocked twice and let himself in. Artemis spun round on his chair with an enquiring smile. "Yes Butler?" he asked.

"There's a Garda officer on the line. Says that he has bad news." Butler answered holding out the phone. Artemis took it and Butler stood just outside the doorway, hoping that the bad news wasn't too bad.

"Hello, Artemis Fowl speaking," he said slowly, his mind raced through options and guesses on what the bad news might be.

"Mr Fowl, I, regret to inform you that Fowl Manor had been burned down." The officer paused to let Mr Fowl process the information. He had made several of these calls in his career and each was as difficult as the next. Many people refuse to believe what he had told them. Then they had broke down. Tears, hysterics and all the other shenanigans. And this wasn't even something normal. But Artemis was not most people, and although there was a long silence, the officer didn't break it and let the man fully understand what had happened.

However, Artemis was not breaking down; instead he had pulled up surveillance footage from the fountain which sat in the drive of the manor. He rewound the film, watching the firemen put out the fire which had destroyed the whole manor, the water rushed backwards into the hose. Then all the firemen and trucks left, the fire rapidly engulfed the whole house, a whole section flew back up into place. Next the fire retreated back into the manor itself, out of the windows and the roof.

Inside, though he couldn't see it, the fire squashed up into a singular place and the explosion rearranged into a small cylindrical bomb which then retreated out of the house, flying backwards into the sky, out of sight. Artemis paused the high resolution film a split second before the front door exploded. There was a silver bomb outside the house, suspended in the air just outside the front door, almost like it was waiting to be let in. The Fowl Manor stood as it had for over five hundred years.

_Five hundred years, the Fowl family had lived there. It was his home and now it was gone. _

"How did this happen?" Artemis demanded as he noted the delayed time it took for the firemen to reach the burning house as he watched the footage as it played forwards.

"Sir, the firemen are still investigating, but we believe that it was an electrical fault." The officer informed.

_Ridiculous. _Artemis thought staring at the bomb. _No, someone planned this attack. But we are here, miles away, unless it is a statement. A warning, perhaps._ He paused as he realised what had happened_. My home is gone_.

"Keep investigating and I want to see that report very soon." Artemis demanded and then hung up the phone.

"Butler, I need to inform the twins of this." Artemis called out, knowing that his old friend was standing outside. "Though, I'm not sure how, old friend."

Butler stepped into the doorway. "How bad?" he asked.

"Fowl Manor has been destroyed." Artemis said with sadness in his voice. Butler walked over to the screen noting the bomb on film.

"An attack?" he wondered, slightly shocked. Then he turned back to see Artemis who sat in his chair just staring at the footage.

"It would appear so."

Butler put his hand on Artemis' shoulder briefly before saying. "It's lucky that we're here and safe though."

Artemis weakly smiled at him and looked back at the screen_. Who am I dealing with here? A serious enemy of course, yet who?_

"Butler, could you inform my parents. They should know of this immediately. I would inform them myself, but I have a feeling that my talk with the twins will take some time. Tell them I shall speak to them later."

"Yes Artemis." Butler replied as he walked out the door with the phone.

"Butler...could you tell them not to worry. I don't want to spoil their holiday." Artemis added hastily, as he looked back at the screen and the plume of fire which was frozen in the act of tearing his home to pieces.

"Of course Artemis." Butler watched as Artemis got up from his chair and walked past him and out of the corridor, he then paused and turned around to face the large bodyguard.

"Oh, and Butler. I believe that your cousin is in their area. As a favour, would you contact him and enquire if he would watch out for my parents. He will be paid for his time and effort, of course."

"Yes Artemis." Butler replied slowly, wondering briefly how Artemis knew about Jasper as the young man walked down the corridor in the opposite direction towards his brothers. Butler walked back down to the kitchen thinking. Jasper was an exceptional solider, he and Butler had worked on a mission with the Red Berets once upon a time ago. He was confident in his cousin to look after Mr and Mrs Fowl. But his main thought was if Artemis expecting more trouble.

* * *

Both twins had taken the news of their home being destroyed badly. Myles sat at his laptop with a tracking program, meticulously going through the camera footage and attempting to see who would have fired on their empty house. He, like Artemis had believed that it was a warning, but from who was the main question.

Artemis sat at his desk and traced patterns in the wood grain thinking. He was brought out of his thoughts when his ring rang. He twisted it so that it faced his palm and put it to his ear, making a pretend phone out of his hand.

"Ah, Holly. How are you?" He asked his fairy friend politely. His home had been blown to smithereens, yet his manners had not deserted him.

"Arty... Hi... Do you know? How are you?" Holly questioned worriedly.

"Yes. I have seen the video. We are fine. There was no one at the manor. Mother and Father are on another continent so they are safe."

"I'm so sorry Arty-" She began but he cut her off.

"We shall be fine. We have other houses. I believe that mother was looking to buy a house on the coast." Artemis said shifting the topic, Holly paused for a moment, knowing that what she was about to say was unfair on her Irish Mud Man friend, but he needed to know.

"Artemis, you know how you always complained that no one called you to say hello..."

Artemis caught her tone and sat up straighter in his chair. "What do you mean by that Holly?" he asked seriously. To him, it sounded like she knew who had fired a missile at his home.

"I think you'll understand this better than I do. Opal's back." Holly informed him.

"She broke out?"

"No, that Opal is under deadlock. No, this was Opal from the past. The one who followed us through Number One's time tunnel."

"I thought that Foaly believed that she had been taken back through the time tunnel. _'Matter attracting matter of its own time'_ is what I believe he wrote." Artemis said, frowning severely yet Holly couldn't see.

There was a muttered, _"How does the Mud Boy do it?"_ from Foaly who had been listening in onto the conversation and Artemis briefly smiled.

"So Opal is free." Artemis stated, not looking for confirmation but Holly gave it anyway.

"Yes, but we have our hands full at the moment, we think that, somehow, she's taken out the main power and hacked two holding facilities for criminals. In around half an hour we're gonna be in the middle of a war between the goblins and the dwarfs. It's not gonna be pretty."

"You can handle it." Artemis said confidently and Holly smiled on the other end of the line. "The LEP is not completely incompetent."

Holly decided to let the jibe pass. "But the problem is, is that if Opal tries anything again, unlikely as it may be... and above ground is where she seems to be." Foaly interrupted and rolled his eyes at his words, "We can't help."

"How come?" Artemis asked. If the LEP thought that Opal was above ground then they would have to send a squad to deal with her, why could they not send them to their French manor?

"I've just got back the latest predictions from the magma flares. In less than hour, there's gonna be the biggest flare we've had for thirty seven years. Right now those chutes are cooler than a stink worm ice cream sundae. If we send a pod, it will drop. There's no thermals to fly on, Mud Boy." Foaly lectured in his own little way.

"Ah." Artemis said realising what they meant, then frowned as he heard white noise.

"Holly?"

There was some silence with intermittent crackling, "Artemis? ... The magma...disruptions." It appeared that the flares were making themselves known.

"Be careful Holly." Artemis said, and there was another burst of white noise.

"You too. Bye." Holly replied quickly and then hung up.

"Artemis." Myles called from his chair, lifting his head out of a book. "Beckett's saying something important for once."


	9. Trouble

_From now on you've got both DW and AF together! _

_Thanks to Cylon One who pointed out the mistakes I made and made this chapter better! :D _

* * *

Trouble

"Butler, I see something." Beckett said as he leaned into a computer screen in the security room.

Although Beckett had not gone through any real training, like the Butlers, he had dabbled in most of the topic areas. And while his brother taught himself languages and science, Beckett learned the different ways in which to spot loops in video recordings and how to ensure that security was as tight as he could make it. Butler often wondered if the young Fowl would turn out to be a security consultant.

Nevertheless, Butler pulled up the screen that Beckett pointed to and then enlarged it. On it there were four metal beings marching towards the manor.

"Who are they?" Beckett asked confused as he looked up at the large bodyguard who scrutinised the approaching _things_.

The metal beings entered the grounds of the manor, avoiding the security gates at the top of the drive and instead taking a slightly more direct route and crashed through the brick wall that encircled the grounds.

"Trouble." Butler replied as he reached for his beloved Sig Sauer. Beckett reached for the microphone which was linked to the PA system that ran through the whole house. He flicked the red switch and spoke clearly into it so that everyone could understand him.

"People, we have company. And they're not invited." He grinned inwardly; he remembered seeing a film with Juliet when he was five. The main character had the same line and he had thought it was cool.

"Speak English Beckett." Myles answered; his voice crackling as the PA was over fifteen years old. It had been installed when the Fowls had bought the French manor, their parents thinking that it was a nice place to spend long weekends and half terms. Their parents had decided that it was close enough to Ireland to go home at the end of them without feeling the harsh effects of jet lag.

Though his parents were in Barbados with Angeline's sister Moira, a last minute decision and they had left that morning, Artemis was glad that they were out of immediate danger and he exchanged a quick glance with Myles. The younger boy was sat next to him glaring at the PA microphone.

"See for yourself then." Beckett retorted, slightly miffed that his brainy brother had not noticed the line he had used._ It was a cool line. Myles was the one who was uncool. _

Artemis switched the PA system on completely so that the whole house could converse simultaneously. Myles quickly pulled up the screen and Artemis wheeled his chair over. They had agreed to share the same study, one, because it had an entire wall which was actually a bookcase, and two, because they both could help each other with their projects.

Myles was definitely following in his brother's footsteps. Albeit, they were slightly less criminal ones."What is that?" he asked.

"I would say robots, however they appear to be...different. Not what I would expect. The design, it's much more advanced than anything I have seen. I don't think even Foaly has gotten this far with AI. I certainly haven't." Artemis pondered.

"No, that's because you are saving the world with Mother." The younger brother teased but both Fowl brothers' eyes never left the screen.

Butler and Beckett walked into the study and they all watched the large screen as the Cybermen continued to ruin the garden, destroying the inner gates of the driveway as they marched up closer. Beckett whistled sharply, "They mean business."

"They could be military, however we have had no disputes with any one in that area." Myles looked at Artemis.

"No, it's definitely different." He touched the screen, "See that."

He pointed to a raised 'C' on the first metal being's chest. "Almost like a logo. It's been built. But I don't recognise the company." He frowned, the lines on his forehead creased in deeply.

"I'll go get my stuff. Juliet." Butler called, knowing that she would hear even though she was next door.

"I'm coming." The Doctor announced loudly from the other room.

"No, stay there. We're dealing with this." Artemis replied, speaking into the microphone; now there were more people in the equation. _Not the best time for an anomaly. _He smiled to himself. _Although I don't suppose there would ever be_.

"Back in a second." Butler said as he strode out of the room, towards the weapons room and the safe which had a fairy blaster inside. He came back in the same minute and watched the screen carefully. Four hostiles, possibly armed, but more than likely able to do enough damage unarmed. And they were made of metal.

* * *

Next door the Doctor and Juliet were having a disagreement. "No, move away from the window." Juliet's instructed annoyed at him. If she had the time, she could have knocked him out. The safety of her principles was paramount, but she didn't really have the heart for it. So she contented with dragging him back.

"I just want to see. Oh... How? That's... No that is really impossible!" the Doctor said to himself.

"-and stay there!" Juliet ordered as she marched out of the room.

Amy looked at the Doctor who was pressed up against the window and then dashed over to peer out too. Her mouth dropped open. "Not good?" She asked as she saw metal men walk towards the manor. The Doctor didn't reply.

Instead he raced out of the room and ran next door to Artemis' study and Amy ran after him, "Doctor!" She called out but he ignored her, he ran up to the screen and stared at it for a second, then he turned around to face her.

"Pond, you stay here," he told her seriously. She opened her mouth to protest but then nodded her head as he had his _'deadly serious'_ face on. Then he grinned at her and sprinted to the French doors which opened out to the balcony.

"Why? Where are you going?" Artemis asked as he watched the Doctor walk out.

"Doctor!" Amy shouted loudly but he didn't reply.

"This is wrong," the Doctor said, pausing at the balcony's edge. He stared at the marching metal men. Then he began to clamber over the side of the balcony.

"What do you think you're doing?" Juliet asked as she followed after him.

"Meeting your guests." He grinned as he let go of the side and dropped down onto the spongy grass. It was slightly damp since it had rained all week long providing extra cushioning.

"Wait! I'm coming." Juliet ordered.

"No you are not," he ordered. "Go back into the house." Then he ran forwards, towards the metal beings. Juliet followed right behind, determined to stop the crazy man from killing himself.

"Delete seven humans." The metal beings stated in monotone as they advanced forwards, closer to the house.

"Stop right there Cybermen!" The Doctor shouted out as he approached, and he scowled when Juliet pulled him back slightly with one hand. In the other was a small toy like gun with blue liquid lazily bubbling along the side. He frowned at the gun.

"Cybermen?" Juliet asked.

"Shush." He whispered to her and then shouted again. "Cybermen stop!" The Doctor ordered, and they paused in their march. The Cyberman at the front spoke.

"Seven humans to be deleted." It stated in its cold robotic voice and it took another step forwards, taking on the role of speaker while the others remained behind it.

"No, you're not deleting anyone here. And you can't count. There aren't seven humans here, _and_ you forgot me! A last minute guest. Sort of." He feigned sadness and continued to his babbling, silently hoping that his hastily thought up, and half baked plan would have a slight chance of working out. "Such a shame. But I'm just wondering, what happened to the upgrading?" He flicked his hands up, questioning them.

The Cybermen stared back, no answer was given.

"Yep, wouldn't you think it's a little strange? Seeing as all you were interested in before was upgrading. I _think_ it was free too. Human version 1.2. Ultimate evolution. Fantastic marketing team you have." The Doctor narrowed his eyes at the half machine half human beings.

Still silence. The Cybermen's silver mesh eyes bore into Juliet's as she watch them, they didn't move, not an inch. They stood motionless and silent.

"Oh, come on. I know you can hold a conversation so answer me! What are you doing here? Why are you deleting and not upgrading?" he asked curiously. "What's wrong with you?"

Still silence from the robots, then they replied. "Seven humans to be deleted." The front Cyberman stated and they began to march forwards again. Juliet dragged the Doctor backwards while she just stared back at the approaching Cybermen with narrow eyes. The Doctor mumbled something and then spoke louder.

"Something's different," he muttered quietly. "No, something's wrong. And that's bad. Very bad."

"Just stay out of the way, get behind me." Juliet ordered as she pushed him behind her.

"No. Not yet."

"Not yet?" She hissed at him.

"Give me a minute," he asked looking at her with serious eyes.

"There's a house back there with three principles, my brother _and_ your friend." Juliet answered as she raised the little toy gun. Then she made them both begin to back away, walking at the same rate as the Cybermen so they kept the same distance apart.

"Something's not right. I need to find out more. Give me time Juliet. I need more time." He looked back at the Cybermen who were marching along, every step taking them closer to the French manor.

Juliet glanced quickly back to the house for a split second and then made her mind up, touching the side of her left ear. "Thirty seconds before I start shooting," she said as she checked the readout on her gun. _All green bars, good. _

"I will stop you, whatever you're doing here," the Doctor announced defiantly.

"You are just a human."

"If you think that, then there's definitely something wrong with you. Scan me then," the Doctor ordered.

They stopped marching and complied. "Artron energy and residual void particles." There was a slight pause. "DNA scan shows Time Lord DNA. You are the Doctor."

He beamed at the Cyberman. "You remember me!" Juliet stared at the mad man for a split second. "So, why are you deleting, specifically seven humans right here right now?" His eyes narrowed in concentration.

"They are orders."

"Orders?" he repeated confused. "How? No why would the Cyberleader order you to delete this lot? Oh the _parents_, that makes seven." He answered his own question and bopped his head.

"They are orders."

"Bet you don't have an employee union," the Doctor muttered sarcastically.

"You are the Doctor. You are an enemy of the Cybermen." The Cyberman stated and stretched its metal hand out towards them, ready to delete.

* * *

_Review please :D I love to read what you think. :D I had to cut this chapter in half because otherwise it'd be too long! _


	10. Threats and Orders

_I'd like to thank all who have reviewed, favourited and alerted this story :D : Thank You!_

* * *

Threats and Orders

The Doctor jerked back away from the outstretched metal hand and backpedalled a few feet away. "Because this lot aren't anything special, no offence." He looked back to Juliet who was completely focused on the four metal men in front of her to take notice of any offence. "So why would you come here? Why delete them? What are you doing here?" he continued. "I asked my questions before you did, so go on, answer me," he said cheerfully.

"They are to be deleted."

"Oh great, I was wrong you know, before when I said you could hold a conversation. You really can't. It's almost like talking to a brick wall." He tilted his head and then pulled out a pair of what looked like 3-D glasses from his jacket pocket. One lens was green while the other was red. "Have to get my own answers I suppose."

The Doctor told them as he put the glasses on and then frowned at what he saw. "So you lot came through the Void. How was your journey?" He leaned forwards as he questioned the Cybermen. "Must have taken quite some time. Maybe around another three years?"

Then he whispered to Juliet. "How am I doing for time?"

"Fine," she whispered back. "But if they get any closer to the manor, I'll shoot."

"You are an enemy of the Cybermen." The Cyberman repeated. Juliet nudged the Doctor's shoulder as the two Cybermen from behind stepped forwards so that all four were in line.

"And I know what you fear," the Doctor announced triumphantly with another small smile, albeit a little strained, he wasn't sure how it was going, since his plan wasn't working as well as he had hoped.

"We fear nothing. We feel nothing."

"Nope, I'm sure you definitely feel something. You must have retained some sort of a warning feeling, an alert system. Does it feel like a little electric shock? Some kind of fear, some sense of it. Does it make you want to retreat, to fall back, to run away? Or is it more like a logical reaction. Because you do react."

"We fear nothing." The Cybermen repeated.

"People have nightmares about monsters. But monsters have nightmares about me. You know what I can do, what I've done. You really want to risk it?" the Doctor advised. "Just access your memory on me! I'm the Doctor! I can change my face. Remember me, I've had curly hair and a scarf, cricket outfit with the celery and the clever specs, oh, the black leather jacket and my lovely brown suit. That's wrecked now, I blame the swimming pool, it had to go and slide into the library." He tutted genially.

"I'm the Doctor!" he shouted. "I stopped you before shut you all down at the Battersea factory. I helped save London with Mickey and Ricky and Jake, Pete, Angela and Rose!" He held his breath.

"The Doctor, the man of fire and ice." The Cybermen stated in their cold robotic tone.

The Doctor paced forwards until he stood dead in front the middle Cyberman, "And again! At the Battle of Canary Wharf. When you broke through the skin of the void. When you threatened to pull two universes into the Void. I stopped you then too. And it wasn't just you there, now was it? Noooooo, because the Daleks were there too! And I sent you all back into the Void. Back into the darkness!" He shouted at the Cybermen who watched him with their fixed metal empty expressions.

"Hurry up." Juliet whispered, a frown pulled down her eyebrows towards her green glittery eyelids.

"So I'm going to do this. I'm going to give you a choice, a warning." He paused, staring at the Cybermen with his ancient eyes. "You leave, you leave right now, you go back into the Void, back into the darkness and you stay there for all eternity! Or..."

"Or what." The Cyberman said.

"Or I'll stop you," he finished plainly, looking at the Cyberman squarely in the eyes. There was no hesitation or deliberation their eyes, only empty of emotion, and so dark.

"We have orders."

"And you can be _so_ thick! What does it matter? You haven't been listening. I have stopped you not once or twice but over and over and over again. I will stop you, so just do the clever thing for once, just for once and listen to what I am telling you. Leave now and don't come back!"

There was silence. The Doctor stared at the Cybermen as the conversed wirelessly, silently. Juliet could feel the tension in the air rise up a notch. Her soldier sense and all the years of training at the academy were telling her that they were standing on the edge, precariously balanced. They could fall either way. The Cybermen could take notice of the threat and leave. Or they wouldn't. _They might leave, _Juliet thought, _it was an impressive threat, I'd think twice if I were them. _

"You are a rogue element. You shall be deleted." The Cyberman announced and they marched forwards together.

"Wrong answer!" the Doctor shouted out as Juliet pulled him back as the Cybermen stepped forwards.

He jerked and lost his balance, landing on the ground. Juliet raised her little toy gun and fired. A pulse of blue shot the first Cyberman who paused momentarily mid step. It then walked slightly behind the other three. Juliet let loose several other shots, pausing all the Cybermen, but not for long as they carried on marching. Their metal legs hissed and they left depressed footsteps in the neatly trimmed lawn as they walked towards the manor.

The Doctor stared at the gun, and then at Juliet and then back at the gun. "That's not human technology," he commented absently. Juliet backed away pulled the Doctor's collar as he scrambled to his feet.

"Go on then!" Juliet said.

"What?"

"Stop them!" Juliet answered as they took a few more steps backwards; she kept on shooting at the Cybermen, freezing them for seconds before they began to move again.

"I can't."

"What was all that about then!"

"I was kind of hoping that they'd leave," he admitted sheepishly, looking nervously as the metal hands which crackled with blue electricity.

"So what do we do now?" Juliet asked as she managed to stop all four Cybermen in five seconds.

"I would suggest that we, er, run." He said as Juliet shot them all again. They both turned around then ran back toward the manor. The Cybermen's loud footfalls behind them. Juliet reached the balcony first and locked her hands together.

"Up you go." She said holding them out so that the Doctor could climb on them and reach the balcony.

"No you go first." He pushed Juliet to start climbing and pulled out the gun from Juliet's holster. Juliet frowned at him but jumped and pulled herself up onto the balcony.

"Come on!" She called down.

"Just a second." He replied casually and he pulled out a small slim cylindrical device. He pressed a button and it whirred, flashing green.

"River was right about those red settings," he whispered approvingly to it. Then he pointed it to the plasma gun which had Neutrino 4000 etched onto the barrel. The gun beeped and the Doctor pocketed both before jumping up and catching Juliet's outstretched arm. Juliet pulled him up quickly and then she ran across the balcony into the bedroom, the Doctor walked backwards while watching the Cybermen.

"Why are they coming here?" Butler enquired, pulling out his own gun. The three Fowl boys and Amy were behind the wardrobe door which was open. Juliet noted that it gave them some protection, but it was only wood. Butler watched as the metal men approached the balcony and jumped up onto it. _These, Cybermen, weren't affected by the Neutrino at all. They should be dead with the level ten blasts she gave them. A rhino would have been vaporised._

"Don't know, they just kept on talking about deleting us. All of us." Juliet explained as she stood in line with her brother.

The Doctor entered the room and looked out of the glass doors and saw that the Cybermen were advancing.

"How close are they?" Butler asked, as he stationed himself in front of the wardrobe door, another barrier of protection.

"They're on the balcony now." The Doctor called out as he rushed to the side of the room, nodded at Amy who had stepped out of the wardrobe to see what was going on, he quickly threw the Neutrino back to Juliet and then began to rummage in his pockets.

"What the hell do you think you're-" Juliet shouted then broke off, facing the open French doors ready for the enemy. Both Butlers were fully concentrating on neutralising the enemy so that they're principles would be safe. They could hear the Cybermen limbs rhythmically hissed and clanked in time as they walked through the doors.

"Now." Butler said and Juliet opened fire on the first Cyberman. But this time the Neutrino punched its way through the Cyberman leaving a small fist sized hole through it. He could see the front lawn through it_. The grass needs a little trim, maybe some more rhododendrons around the border,_ he thought absent mindedly. It was a side effect of being a lot older than he looked and his mind tended to wander more often. He quickly focused again to watch what happened next.

The Cyberman staggered slightly, whining, and then collapsed on the deep blue carpet. Juliet was slightly thrown by the unusual reaction but aimed at the next Cyberman, and shot it. The effect was the same and it too collapsed onto the carpet. The blaster in her hand sparked and she instinctively dropped it as the next Cyberman walked in. Cursing silently she bent down for the gun and then smiled widely at the Cyberman.

"Night night." And she pulled the trigger. Nothing happened so she tried again. She glanced down at the readout and there appeared to be no juice in the nuclear battery. _I'm gonna kill that pony boy_. She thought before stepping back, away from the Cyberman's crackling blue hand.

"Delete. Delete." It said in a robotic monotone.

"No more juice." She looked to her left where her brother was standing. He raised his gun and put in a close round of bullets into the Cyberman's chest. Then he loaded another clip and did the same again, loosing off a couple in its face. Because the bullets were at close range and slightly modified, they punched through the Cyberman's metal suit and buried themselves into the hardwire and circuits. It too collapsed and sparks erupted violently before it stopped whirring. "Three down one more to go," she stated seriously. Butler nodded professionally and then glanced at the table.

The last Cyberman clunked in. "Delete. Delete. Delete."

"No more juice." Juliet repeated and she noticed her brother didn't want to move to the table to pick up the second cartridge to reload his gun because if he did there would be a clear line to the principles.

"What now?" she called. Her voice climbing higher with stress because after years of training at Madame Ko's academy she thought the one thing that the little woman couldn't have prepared them for was clunking metal men. "Dom?"

"Delete." The Cybermen stated and stretched out its cold metal hand further, inches away from her.

* * *

_And, cue some lovely tense music! Perhaps, I am the Doctor?_


	11. Problems

_Hey, thank you for the reviews, I love the fact that you like this story! Please, continue... I need to know if it's getting boring or too dialogue-y. (not a word, I know) Hope you like it! _

* * *

Problems

"Found it!" The Doctor cried from the side and ran up in front of all the humans in the room.

He stepped in between the remaining Cyberman and Juliet, and she gave him space, stepping back slightly to let him work. Obviously he had some kind of plan. And if not, the Cyberman would be slowed down for a moment disposing him giving her extra time to get her charges out of the room and away from it. With quick Time Lord reflexes, he depressed a little black circle and then was promptly knocked back by the Cyberman thrashing on the spot. Its arms flailed and it was covered in the same blue electricity that the other had.

"Stay back." The Doctor warned. The Cyberman stopped jerking as quickly as it started and collapsed on the spot in a metallic crumpled heap.

"What was that?" Butler asked as he inspected the danger and decided it was safe enough for the three Fowls to leave the safety of the cramped wardrobe.

"Basically a localised EMP. Knocked it out completely." The Doctor explained as he bent down and tapped the large insignia on the last intact Cyberman's chest, then removed the small black metal circle and pocketed it.

"And it's dead now?" Butler asked, his gun still raised if it wasn't.

"Yeah. It's dead." The Doctor looked down at the motionless robot, his expression unreadable.

"What was it? How do you know so much?" Myles demanded, his eyes narrowed and he scrutinised the Doctor.

Butler swivelled his head towards the Doctor too. _This man knew a lot, and as Artemis always said, knowledge is power. And he had threatened the Cybermen. Maybe she was dangerous too_. Subtlety, he stepped forwards, thus putting himself in the way of him and the Fowls, just in case anything did happen.

Juliet was muttering to herself. "How? I swear that Foaly said that this would outlive the whole Fowl family." She scowled as she dangled the blaster from her finger.

"Yeah about that, sorry." The Doctor looked up from the Cyberman briefly before looking back down again. His face turned from sheepish back to blank and Artemis noted that this _Cyberman_ was a dangerous threat, and also as much of a mystery as their new guests.

"Did you do this?" Juliet asked looking back at the little blaster gun. "Was everything that you said out there true?" Suspicion laced her voice, and she dropped the Neutrino onto the table because it was useless now.

"Yes." The Doctor replied hesitantly. He looked over at Amy who was shuffling her feet over the carpet but paying him close attention. But he turned away from her because she didn't have any answers to give to the Fowls and Co.

"And how did you do that?" Artemis asked, cutting in before his inquisitive brother demanded more answers. Myles was very proficient in extracting answers and secrets from enemies and friends. Beckett on the other hand was currently more focussed on his phone, apparently taking pictures of the fallen man made of metal.

_This Irish boy was clever, and he had muscle, who had guns. _The Doctor didn't like guns. The clever part he could totally get with. After all, what's a genius to another genius apart from a potential clash of wits and maybe an explosion or two?

"Sonic screwdriver." The Doctor replied even more hesitantly than before.

"What?" Juliet blurted and Artemis frowned.

"I think that you have some explaining to do Doctor." The young Irish man stated.

The Doctor waved his hand absently at the Irishman and turned back to Amy. "Are you alright Pond?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine." She replied, glancing up at him before looking back at the Cybermen. She looked at it with the same surprise and fear as the other humans in the room, humans who had never seen a Cyberman before. But Amy was from a different universe, and an Earth which had been invaded by Cyberman armies before.

"Amy?" The Doctor asked, moving to look her in the eyes. His old ones burrowed holes of intense attention into her young green ones.

Her eyes widened, but she didn't step back. "What?"

"Do you remember the Cybermen?" He asked.

"Why would I _remember_ them? Never seen them before in my life. Don't think it's something I'd forget in a hurry." She pulled a face at him and then looked confused. "Why?"

"Because you didn't remember the Daleks either." The Doctor noted and stepped further forwards so that he stood right in front of her, inches from her nose. "And, you don't remember the ghosts?"

"Ghosts?" She asked leaning away, because personal space and the Doctor were concepts that rarely understood each other. Perhaps it was because he was an alien. More likely because he wore a bowtie and braces and thought fezzes were cool.

"The Battle of Canary Wharf?" He offered up hopefully and she shook her head.

"Nope. Anything I need to know?"

"Hmm." The Doctor thought and brushed back his fringe which had flopped down again in his face. "Something's wrong, but I can't do anything about that just now. Besides Pond, we've got a bigger problem here. A great, big, fat, metal problem."

He pointed at the dead Cybermen on the floor and everyone stared at it.

* * *

_Underground, Atlantis._

"Keep in line. Hold it."

Commander Glunk of the Atlantis LEP squad, instructed as he looked at the holographic countdown timer which was projected into the air before them. _14. 13. 12. 11._ It counted down the seconds until the prisoners would escape, the estimated time had been calculated and no one was looking forward to when the clock hit zero.

"Make sure there are no gaps in the line." He ordered.

He moved back, picking up his own heavy duty plastic riot shield. Glunk then quickly walked down the narrow line of officers blocking up the entrance to the prison from the road. It was small, width wise, but had rows of officers ready to use seeker-sleepers to knock the escaped convicts out cold. It would be easy to load them up back into their cells when they were unconscious.

Or, if only it were that simple.

The countdown finished and all the Atlantis officers held their breath. There was silence for a split second. Then the metal doors of Penatle prison buckled under extreme force from the outside.

That in itself should have been warning.

Prisoners did not have access to any kinds of weaponry and all the staff had been evacuated hours ago. The largest object that the prisoners could use was their bed, yet it was moulded into their room, cemented to the floor. Besides it wouldn't fit out of the door.

The same buckling was mirrored on the opposite holding facility.

There was a loud crunch as the doors flew off their hinges, blue electricity cracked in the doorway and as the dust settled, the LEP officers were shocked at what they were seeing. Prisoners ran out from the broken doors, streaming around each other, pushing and shoving and running as fast as their little legs would allow them. Some of the dwarfs attempted to dive down into the tarmac, which didn't work as it had been sealed up with a concrete and tarmac mixture. Others just kept on running until they noticed that there were LEP officers waiting for them.

Another loud crash from the Holloway facility mirrored what was happening to the dwarf prison. The goblins just poured out and ran at the LEP officers. They ignored the dwarfs, and instead just pushed in an attempt to get the furthest away from their prison. The sight made the LEP officers confused, as here were two species who hated each other, and yet, they weren't fighting. Some officers exchanged quizzical glances from under their riot helmets and pushed against the prisoners who were squashed up against their riot shields, kettling them back down the avenue.

It was only after the Captain heard what the prisoners were saying;

"Help us, please!" A dwarf shouted.

"Yes. Stop them!" A goblin cried out.

_Dwarfs and goblins agreeing with each other? _Commander Glunk wondered. Then he thought, _Who's 'them'?_

It didn't take very long to find out. After most of the prisoners had left the prisons and were clawing at the riot shields, hoping that they could get behind them, the LEP officers saw what emerged from the battered doors. On either side of the road, from each prison, were strange metal men. Their limbs clunked and hissed as they marched forwards. Some of the prisoners were desperately shouting at the officers to save them. There was a small group of metal men standing in front of each prison facing each other.

They then turned to face the LEP officers and spoke in robotic monotone, "You shall be deleted." And then they showed exactly what deleted meant.

One of the goblin prisoners was a little too close to the strange metal men and one of them clunked forwards. The goblin had no clue what to do and just stood frozen in fear and shock.

"You are a rogue element. You cannot be upgraded. You will be deleted." It stated in its cold robotic voice. Then it clamped down a cold metal hand on the goblin's shoulder, which then cracked with the same blue electricity which had surrounded the doors before they were broken. The goblin cried out and then sank to the ground, dead.

"Deleted!" Repeated the prisoners, and again pushed up against the riot shields. The LEP pushed back because they didn't know what else to do.

"We surrender!" Some prisoners cried out to the LEP and the officers watched in disbelief. They were hardened criminals after all, and crying and sobbing was something a hardened criminal did.

Then, after a speedy mental deliberation Glunk immediately gave the order for the officers to part at the side to let the prisoners pass. They quickly tagged them with seeker-sleepers and herded them into vans, making sure that goblins and dwarves were separate. Overcrowding was an issue but neither complained. The metal men stood silently and watched as the convoy of crammed vans began to drive off towards the other end of the city.

Commander Glunk took two steps forwards, "Who are you?" He called out, his voice a fine specimen of a Commander in a time-of-crisis.

"We are Cybermen. We have orders. You will be deleted."

Then they began to march forwards. Some of the LEP officers took a step back, warily and waited for their Captain's orders. However they weren't surprised when he ordered, "Fire at will."

And they did.

And then they watched as their blasters had no effect on the marching metal men.

"Level Ten." The Commander instructed and the officers complied, but the blasts still didn't slow the Cybermen. They only paused for a split second mid-stride, and then continued to march forwards, the gap between the LEP and the Cybermen decreasing with each slow clunking step.

So the Commander did the only thing he could do. "Retreat to LEP Headquarters." He issued and the order sounded in all officers helmets.

With a nervous glance behind they ran towards their vehicles and sped off towards the other side of the city. Rule 22 in the LEP handbook was promptly forgotten; '_All officers must maintain a sense of decorum and order.'_

* * *

_A/N: updated 24/08/12 - revised, and slowly making my way through the rest of the story. Also read The Last Guardian today...*sobs* :)_


	12. Heads Or Tails

_MistOverMoon, you demanded an update and an update you got: _

_Thanks for the reviews readers :D And I'm glad that people are alerting this story... :D it gets interesting, promise! _

_And here is chapter 12 :D_

_Gosh! You put two genii in a room and there's bound to be a lot of chatting... _

* * *

Heads Or Tails

_Fowl Manor, France _

Butler had taken the Myles and Beckett down to the kitchen dinner and left Juliet with Artemis in the study. The Doctor stood near the window and Amy leaned against the wall next to him. She could see the mess the Cybermen had left, a broken wall in the boundary of the manor with chunks of bricks scattered all over the neatly mowed lawn. The fence had a huge hole ripped through it.

"Doctor, these Cybermen, who are they?" Amy asked turning around to face him. The Doctor didn't answer but stared down at the metal man.

"Who are you?" Artemis asked bluntly.

"I'm the Doctor. And she's Amy." The Doctor replied waving at Artemis without taking his eyes off the intact, but very dead Cyberman.

"What are you?" Artemis asked, a hint of frustration seeped into his voice.

"Clever question! Yes, what are you. You're not completely normal, perhaps a little corrupted." The Doctor mumbled and straightened up before whispering something into Amy's ear. Her eyes spun round the room once but then landed on Artemis and then moved down to the Cybermen and she frowned at it.

"Video!" He turned to face the computer bank and pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began to rewind the footage. "Just borrowing." He said as he slipped off Juliet's earpiece and pointed the screwdriver at it. It buzzed loudly and suddenly they heard a high pitched noise. "Right now, this bit was odd." The Doctor commented as he played back the tape and audio in sync.

_"They are orders."_ The Cybermen stated on the screen in monotone. The Doctor paused the tape. "They are orders." He repeated thoughtfully.

"But from who?" Amy asked.

"What?" The Doctor turned to her. "Oh, yes Pond. Correct. Whose orders, whose orders? Who could give the Cybermen orders?" The Doctor paced across the room as he spoke, neatly stepping around the dead Cybermen. Then he spun round to Artemis and the question was posed to him.

"Opal." Artemis answered realising and he gazed past the Doctor to the Cybermen. "Would be extremely likely, unless there's someone else involved. But I doubt it, this screams Koboi, and after that message. It's definitely that pixie." He stated seriously before taking a seat in his chair. He steepled his fingers together and rested his chin on them. "Now, Doctor. What. Are. You?" The Irishman asked.

"Time Lord." The Doctor replied in an equally serious tone.

"Yes, that's what the Cybermen identified you as. And her?" Artemis nodded towards Amy.

"Oi!" She interjected angrily. "I'm human."

"Human?" Artemis mused. Butler trained his attention on the man in tweed while Artemis continued to ask questions. "Time Lord, what species is that? Certainly not anything from Earth. Alien?"

"From Gallifrey. You wouldn't know or you'd be impressed and just a little scared. Last of the Time Lords actually." The Doctor corrected himself. "I'm certainly not an ape." He added after a short pause, glaring at Juliet who had borrowed her brother's beloved Sig Saur for the time being.

"Lord of Time?" Artemis scoffed.

"Now, who is this Opal?" Amy butted in curious.

"Opal Koboi. Crazy evil genius who has attempted to take over the world and murder myself, my family and my friends on several accounts." Artemis explained as he scrutinised the Doctor's expression.

"Ah, yes. An evil genius. Always a problem with those." The Doctor nodded his head and grinned.

"And the Cybermen?" Artemis asked. "What are they?"

"Oh, don't be boring. You heard over the earpiece. Cybermen." Artemis gave the Doctor a pointed look and he sighed back. "Cybermen. Does what it says on the tin."

"Doctor, are you saying that they're robots?" Amy asked dubiously, craning her neck to see them.

The Doctor didn't reply to her question, instead he locked eyes with Artemis and continued to speak to him. "But, you must be a little genius too. The ape comments sting a little don't they? No, but there's something more. That device. How you searched for the anomaly... that's not human technology. Now, you need me, you won't be able to stop the Cybermen without me. So answer my questions."

Artemis stared back at him before nodding. "The design was, borrowed from a friend."

"And who was that friend?" The Doctor asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Some things are secrets Doctor. And they must remain so." Artemis replied tersely.

"I know that." The Doctor nodded his head, "Better than anyone else in the room. You can trust me, and sure, Amy's got a gob but she can keep a secret too." The Doctor smiled at the ginger woman who scowled back happily at him. "But you need me to stop this because there are Cybermen involved."

"And they are working with Opal Koboi, who, as I believe, I am the expert in foiling her plots." Artemis retorted.

"Ok boys." Amy announced, bored with the stalemate. The Doctor let out a chuckle and he leaned back against the computer table. Amy rummaged in her pockets before pulling out a dull pound coin. "Heads or tails Doctor?" She asked and he grinned at her.

"Heads, no tails, no wait..." He paused, "Yes, heads Pond." He decided and bopped his head.

Amy flipped the coin and caught it quickly, slapping it down onto her other hand and waggled her eyebrows at the two competitors. "And, it's heads!" She announced. "So Arty, your turn to spill." Artemis frowned but conceded. After all, the LEP had mind wipe technology which was extremely efficient.

* * *

The Doctor stepped forwards and walked towards the doorway and then twisted backwards to look at Artemis. "Right, first one. How did you find me and Pond? How did you know where your little anomaly was going to end up? You were practically waiting there."

"Recently I have been working on a little project about spatial-temporal instabilities. With a little help I managed to build a device which could detect them. It alerted me to the area and Butler, Juliet and I went to investigate further. It seems there was some sort of rift and then Butler noticed you stumbling out of the trees." Artemis explained.

"We didn't stumble." The Doctor commented and Artemis raised his eyebrows, "A little but so would you. The landing was a little rough." Amy shook her head thinking back to how she had ended up sprawled on the console and the Doctor was halfway down some stairs.

"Why would I?" Artemis inquired smiling.

"Rough landing." Amy said nudging the Doctor with her elbow who then elbowed her back.

"My fault entirely, I left the handbrake on." He admitted sheepishly and Amy grinned while shaking her head.

"You can't drive in a straight line!" She told him and he looked at her, mouth open in shock.

"Handbrake?" Artemis interrupted.

"TARDIS." The Doctor replied, before elbowing Amy again.

"Which is?"

"None of your business." The Doctor commented.

Artemis nodded his head, "Ok then."

"But how did you know? That device, your little hand held scanner, human technology is not that advanced. Not at this point in time. To be honest, right now. I am more concerned about you lot to be honest. That gun," He pointed at Juliet, "Is not human technology. And you." He walked forwards to stand in front of Artemis, "You shouldn't have something that can track holes in reality. How'd you come across something like that?"The Doctor asked and turned back to look at Artemis expectantly.

"And how can you know that?" Artemis asked.

"I'm a Time Lord. I know everything, mostly everything, well... some things, actually just the important things. And I know that technology is not human. That technology is at least four centuries ahead of development. Let alone production." The Doctor stated. "How come you have it?"

"I designed it. That's the truth." Artemis replied stoically.

"Are you sure, there's nothing you're missing out. How long were you working on it?" Amy butted in.

"I have been working on it for the past eight years, on and off. Obviously there have been more, pressing ventures." The Doctor rolled his eyes, pressing ventures usually meant profit full ventures as he took in the expensive taste of the room.

"If the Cybermen are here, well, more Cybermen than that little group then this whole universe is in trouble. And if they are working with this Opal Koboi, then it sounds a lot worse." The Doctor stated and Artemis recognised the tone he was using. He used it himself when he was informing Holly that things were bad. "You need to tell me the whole truth Artemis Fowl." The Time Lord demanded and Artemis simply stared back at him calmly with a measured expression.

He thought for a moment before replying hesitantly. "It was modified from a friend's existing plans."

"Who is your friend? Did they fall from the sky?" Amy asked sarcastically, she was becoming annoyed with the lack of answers and Artemis smirked at her before shaking his head.

"No," He paused and the Doctor stepped back and nodded his head encouragingly. "There is a race that lives under the Earth's crust. They are called the People. They're technology is more advanced than ours, but no one above the surface, no human knows of them. Their secrecy is paramount and must be kept. I was the first human to make contact with them since they abandoned the surface and have friends with their people. I will also do whatever is in my power to protect them Doctor." Artemis warned and the Doctor nodded his head again understanding, "But, the plans for the device were borrowed from Foaly. And the gun was modified from an existing model." Artemis explained.

"See Amy, parallel world where everything's the same but just a little bit different!" The Doctor announced and watched as comprehension flashed across Amy's face.

"You mean...they're like the Silurian's?" She said slowly.

"Yep. And, of course, completely secret. I would love to meet the person who designed the scanner. Must be a genius!" The Doctor grinned.

"Not completely if he doesn't have effective firewalls to keep me out." Artemis muttered and he noted the acceptance of the two about the existence of the People, the Doctor seemed more excited, not surprised. "Anyway, Doctor, your turn." Artemis prompted and leaned forwards to hear what the odd man had to say.

* * *

_Reviews shall be a little slower now... exams... revision...more revision... but I'll keep typing if you keep reviewing! :D Next chapter will be up on Friday :D_


	13. Location, Location, Location

_Hello, yeah... not Friday but I was bored and had free time :D This chapters got a title though :D Hopefully this isn't getting too boring, chatty, long winded explantion-ish, mainly just want to cover the points about both AF and DW, they all have so much history!__And to the reviewer of the last chapter, glad I've got you hooked :D _

_Set after the Doctor and Amy leave the Silurians, so after 'Cold Earth' and before 'Vincent and the Doctor'. This explains explains the lack of a lovely bumbling Rory... (oooh, have you heard the rumours about what happens in the next series?)_

* * *

Location, Location, Location

"Yes, Doctor, who are the Cybermen?" Amy asked, jumping in before Artemis could. "You know them and they know you, but how?"

"They're humans. They were, humans. Not anymore. On another Earth, a parallel Earth, a man who was sick built technology so that he wouldn't die. And that was so human, but he took it too far and created Cybermen. That's what they are. Metal body, human brain. No emotions, no feeling, no sickness, no pain...That's how they advertised it anyway. Humans, you're so addicted to your downloads and upgrades. Always want the latest piece of shiny technology." The Doctor shook his head as he thought back over what had happened whilst Amy and Artemis stared at the Cybermen. Amy took a step back away from them and Artemis swallowed nervously as he understood what had happened to the people.

"Is there a company called Cybus Industries?" The Doctor asked impatiently and Artemis shook his head. "Did you recognise the logo, the big 'C' on their chests?" And Artemis shook his head again.

"I have never seen them." He replied and the Doctor nodded his head thoughtfully.

"Where do they come from?" Amy asked softly.

"This lot? The Void." He stated while looking down at his boots.

"Ah yes, you mentioned that earlier, outside. What is it?" Artemis asked.

"Well, I say the Void; this lot were originally from Pete's world. A company, Cybus Industries, the man who didn't want to die. They tried to take over London." He paused and looked up, "I stopped them, and they were locked up in their factories. And then they disappeared. Turns out they followed something which had pushed through the barriers of time and space and universes and walked across into the Void. And after they tried again, and I stopped them, with my...friend Rose. She was called Rose. She was brilliant." He looked out of the window and Amy watched him closely, he seemed sad.

"But the thing I don't understand is that you can't travel any more between universes. I sealed up the crack. It's dangerous and it's impossible!" The Doctor continued, although it sounded more like a rant. "The Battle of Canary Wharf, I sealed it up. No one can travel through. At all. Never again."

"So the Cybermen are dangerous and travel between parallel universes is impossible." Amy repeated, "So then how did we get here?"

"Ah, now that's interesting." The Doctor breathed out sharply and turned around to face them, "Like I said, they tried this before, I saw that they had void particles around them with my glasses, he pulled out a pair of what looked like 3-D glasses and threw them to Amy. It's...oh..." The Doctor froze, "That's..." He broke off.

Amy caught the glasses and put them on, she could little black particles around her hand, and when she looked down she could see that she was covered in them. As she moved her hand, they followed, like they were attracted to her. "Doctor. You've got them too. You've got more actually." She noted as she stared at him, he was drenched in the little black particles, almost twice as much as her. But he didn't reply, instead he stood with his mouth halp open. She passed back the glasses and he absently took them and replaced them into his voluminous pockets. Sometimes Amy thought he carried around a kitchen sink in there too.

_If these Cybermen have void stuff on them, then they're from another universe. Or more likely; the Void itself. I stopped them at Battersea, but there were other factories, all over the world. Mickey had said that by the time the protesters had finished and they were able to open up the factories, there were no Cybermen there. Just empty buildings. They had walked across the Void. A whole army. And then, that was when they had ended up at the Battle of Canary Wharf, but what if not all the Cybermen had crossed over completely. They all had ended up back inside the Void, so...they had attempted their plan again. To take over a new universe... And that is never good. And this time they've got help, not just a blind-to-consequences technology-grabbing Torchwood, but someone who's dangerous._

"Opal Koboi. She's not human is she?" The Doctor asked quietly and Artemis nodded his head before gazing into the space in front of him.

"No, she's one of the People, a technologically advanced, crazy evil pixie who has experience in taking-over-the-world-bids." Artemis nodded blankly again.

The Doctor groaned and stretched his arms. "Just once I'd like to visit a parallel world without one of those. Although," He tilted his head to the side as he considered the situation, "Lumic wasn't a pixie."

Amy chuckled before asking her question seriously. "So, how are we going to stop her?"

"She's got be to nearby, somewhere within marching distance." The Doctor mused, jerking his head at the Cybermen on the floor.

"Hmmm." Artemis replied still deep in thought.

"Artemis, you know, you've got me. Me and Amy. We'll stop the Cybermen and Opal Koboi." The Doctor leaned down to look Artemis in the eye and Amy patted Artemis on the shoulder.

"She's already started." Artemis said haltingly.

"What's that?" Amy asked.

"She's already stated. She burnt down my home. She's used the timing of the magma flares to stop any communication between myself and the LEP. They can't even come above ground to search for her. She's been planning this for a long time. Years. And now the paradox is closed, she's before, after and here. A looped knot in time."

"A paradox? Now that's interesting." The Doctor said, tilting his head to the other side, his fringe flopped along with the movement.

"Hardly. It's a problem. We believed that she had been taken back by her own time-"

"No, that never happens." The Doctor interjected.

Artemis paused before the Doctor nodded apologetically for him to continue, "However she has made it clear that she is behind this. She sent a text message too. Somehow, Opal will cause havoc in Haven and Atlantis." Artemis passed over his phone so the Doctor and Amy could see the text message.

"And then she'll try to take over the world." Amy finished for Artemis.

"We need to find out where she is." The Doctor said as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began to probe the dead Cybermen.

"She's above ground." Artemis pointed out. "She would have to be. There are magma flares right now. If she was below ground then her plan wouldn't work if she wanted to take over human cities because she wouldn't be able to travel in the chutes."

"Chutes?" Amy exchanged a look with the Doctor.

"Like the Silurians." The Doctor replied and Amy remembered the picture on the computer screen with the chutes that led down to where the Silurians had hibernated for centuries, away from any human interference. She nodded and continued to listen to the conversation between both genii intently. "Just a little bit different." He repeated.

"Right, so above ground and in marching distance for the Cybermen. It narrows it down, but that still leaves a pretty big space and Cybermen are blunt, they don't do subtle." The Doctor began pacing again, while talking.

"Opal likes to show off." Juliet added.

"That helps to narrow it down. But still, where?" Artemis asked.

"They would need a large space. If the Cybermen are still converting up an army." The Doctor noted and spun around to give himself more room to pace.

"Right." Artemis nodded and steepled his fingers again. "Large, public building. Somewhere accessible."

"Artemis?" Beckett's voice crackled over the PA and Artemis jerked his head to the monitor which showed that his brothers were sat in the kitchen.

"Myles left the comms open." Artemis stated to the Doctor and Amelia while frowining at his younger brother, but then he smiled slightly at Myles' forward thinking. His voice then adopted a serious tone"Myles. What have I told you about eavesdropping?"

"We want to help." Myles replied, looking directly at the camera to his older brother.

"Still." Artemis said disapprovingly as his brothers didn't even seem abashed or guilty.

"You were trying to figure out where Opal is. We think we know." Beckett said as he glanced at his twin who nodded.

"Where do you think they are?" The Doctor asked as he walked up to lean against the back of Artemis' chair.

"The Paris Exhibition." Myles answered, holding up the newspaper in front of the camera so that they could see. 'The Technological Age', was the headline in black and white.

_"Oh." The Doctor said._

"That would tick all the boxes." Amy quipped and Artemis nodded.

"Now we know where she is, we need a plan. And, that Doctor, is my forte." Artemis turned to face the Doctor who smiled back, amused at the Irishman's smirk.

* * *

_Liked it? Anyway, last of the long explainy chapters, I'm having a lot of fun writing the next one... Review to let me know how it's going. :D _


	14. A Little Message

_I'm bored, not in the mood for coursework or homework...or revision. So here's another chapter which I had a lot of fun writing, hope you have fun reading :D _

_Thanks to all who review :D _

* * *

A Little Message

"Incoming video link call for Artemis Fowl." The computer sounded and bleeped twice. "Sender, unknown."

Artemis frowned as he walked over to the computer and clicked the message open. It was a video link. The larger box was black while he could see his own, rather confused face in the smaller box on the side. _Now was not the time for a chat. _He flipped the switch to connect the microphone and spoke into it.

"Hello?" His Irish lilt becoming more pronounced with his impatience, just the same as Amy's ever Scottish accent made itself known when she was angry.

"Arty, is that you? My, haven't you grown." A female spoke, sarcasm and disdain infused her tone. Then the larger box changed from black to the live video feed it was designed to show. Opal Koboi beamed back at him.

"Opal." He acknowledged, his frown deepening.

"Oh, Arty, didn't you like my present. After all, I keep all my promises. If you don't have your word, then what do you have." Opal asked quizzically. Her thin eyebrows slanted upwards and she leaned forwards. "Just a burnt down pile of bricks and ruined Tunisian rugs, maybe splintered oak banister?" She mused, before grinning like a cat who had just been given a bowl full of cream.

Artemis glared at her. "That was a rather dramatic message you sent earlier."

Opal leaned back, "Oh, Arty, Arty, Arty, Arty." She tutted condescendingly. "Artemis Fowl. You made a big mistake interfering will my plan, and this is all your doing in the first place, you left the time tunnel open for me to follow you. You never did find me after that little stunt you pulled with the kraken. You think you're so clever. _Oh, look at me. I can save the world with my mother, erasing one carbon footprint at a time, planting a little tree here and there_." She giggled. "But you never stopped to search for me. And I was here, right under your Mud Boy nose. And unlike you, I haven't wasted my time. Oh, no. Because I'm cleverer than you." She giggled a little more before bursting into laughter.

Amy whispered, "Is she mad?" to the Doctor but Artemis was the one to reply.

"Completely. But a genius too." He said reluctantly. The Doctor moved forwards and leaned against the top of Artemis' chair.

"Hello there." The Doctor called cheerfully, and Artemis leaned backwards and tilted his head to stare at him in confusion. _Why would he want to hold a conversation with her?_

Opal had managed to calm herself down and wiped a little tear from the corner of her eye with a slim finger. "And who are you?" She asked, very slightly intrigued.

"I'm the Doctor." He introduced himself. "And you must be the pixie, Opal Koboi."

Opal clapped her hands slowly. "Very good Mud Man. Although you should be locked up for crimes against fashion. Arty, what kind of company to you keep these days. I can't seem to see your big burly bodyguard either? Where has he gone?" She asked sarcastically.

"Hey!" The Doctor protested and looked down at his clothes. "This jacket was a present from Albert Einstein and bowties are cool." He retorted before he pulled out his sonic and pointed it at the screen. Suddenly, Opal's video feed zoomed out and they could see the room she sat in. Behind her, standing stoically at the doors where two Cybermen. Artemis nodded his head in approval as he realised Opal didn't know what had happened.

"There you are." The Doctor muttered. "Artemis, we were right." He patted the Irishman on the shoulder.

"They are working together." Artemis nodded. The Doctor winced and reached over to flick the microphone off as Opal began to laugh hysterically again.

"My ears are getting damaged." He explained plainly and Amy nodded in agreement. The pixie did have a rather ear piercing laugh. The Doctor leaned on the side of the table to face Artemis. "But, if you're going to stop Opal, then you're going to need my help, so it seems we're working together." The Doctor muttered and Artemis managed to pull the sides of his mouth up in a sort-of-smile. The Doctor grinned back and Artemis saw it in the small screen on the computer. "How'd you suppose we go about this then, genius?"

"You seemed surprised before, when the Cybermen said they had orders." Artemis began slowly and the Doctor nodded his head confirming the fact. "So, naturally the Cybermen do not take orders and work alone?"

"And upgrade. Like I said earlier, they want everyone to look like them. Think it's the ultimate evolution. Not true though. They could've been so much more." The Doctor explained wistfully.

"Divide and conquer?" Artemis mused after a moment of silence.

The Doctor considered it for a moment. "Sounds like a plan!" And he flipped the screen back on. "Are you finished?" He asked an irate Opal, who was annoyed at the fact that she had been muted.

"I don't like you." She told the Doctor bluntly. "I think you'd look good...stuffed and put into a museum of 'Things Which People Should Never Wear'."

The Doctor fixed her with an icy stare, one which was known to stop armies in their tracks, but it did nothing to the mad pixie who sat at her desk on the screen before them. Then he turned his gaze to the Cybermen standing at the door. "Hello." He waved at them. "Don't you want to say hello back? No?"

"What are you doing?" Opal asked, bored.

"That's not the million credit question, not even close. The question isn't even what you're doing, Opal Koboi. It's what they're doing." The Doctor pointed at the two Cybermen guards. "Because whatever they've said. However much they've promised their loyalty to you. Anything they've promise in fact," He said stepping back "is a lie."

Opal turned around to face the Cybermen, "Come here boys." She called and the Cybermen clunked forwards to stand right behind her.

"You met my boys haven't you?" Opal frowned, "I don't know how you managed to dispose of them, but I think I can safely say that I am not happy about it." She pointed her finger at the Doctor. "It must have something to do with you...I hate you now." She decided.

"Many people do." The Doctor said nonchalantly and bopped his head as he thought. "But I'm interested in what _your boys _are?"

"My metal men. My Cybermen. Aren't they designed perfectly?" She gushed, before turning serious. "They follow my orders. My Cybermen." She repeated. "And I'm going to crush you, you fowl Mud Boy. Right down into the dirt where you belong." She moved her finger slowly from the left side of the screen to the right. "And the rest of you will call me Empress of the Earth. Sounds delightful!"

The Doctor leaned forwards. "Empress of the Earth," he repeated slowly. "Now that's interesting. And what do _your _Cybermen say about that?" He flicked his gaze to each of them who stood, unmoving. "What do you say about that? Not like you to do someone else's dirty work. Are you tired of updating? Is that it?" The Doctor quizzed.

Opal scowled at him, "They adore me!" She beamed white smile at the Cybermen behind her before returning her gaze to the Doctor to scowl darkly at him.

"Really? Like I said, interesting." The Doctor exchanged a raised eyebrow glance with Artemis, who mimicked it perfectly.

"Why is it _so_ interesting?" Opal drawled as the Cyberman on the left moved out of screen before placing a box of what appeared to be chocolate truffles in front of her.

"Because you believe they are working for you. They are not, in fact, they have their own plans. You are deluded as well as mad." Artemis replied, taking his cue from the Doctor who nodded enthusiastically.

"Mad Arty? Is that what I am? Because I seem to remember you and your little Atlantis Complex, what was it, fear of the frightening four?" She ignored him as she bit into one of the chocolates. "Mmm. Truffles are divine. I hate you Arty. You owe me a box of these delicious truffles. But don't worry you can pay in your blood and mangled bones." She said indifferently as she popped the rest of the chocolate into her mouth and turned to look at the Doctor. "Plans? My plans will leave you gasping in amazement. My lovely army, my Cybermen army will lead me to my gold throne which upon I will see the whole world, and rule it all." She fantasised as she picked up another truffle.

"But what about theirs." The Doctor repeated. "Because the Cybermen don't do ruling. They prefer upgrading. What will you be? A Cyberking? Cybercontroller? Because whatever they've promised you, it isn't worth it." He looked at her seriously and she replaced a chocolate she had just picked up back into its place in the box.

"I don't know what you're talking about. This. Is. My. Army. They are my Cybermen. This is my plan. And I will be queen of the world." Opal stated dramatically. The Cyberman on the right walked to the side of the room and then brought back a glass filled with champagne and placed in front of Opal. "I'll kill you all and be happy about it." She ranted, her face turned from a pale pink to splotchy patches on her cheeks.

The Doctor shook his head and Artemis leaned forwards. "We will stop you." He told her.

"Both of you." The Doctor added, pointing at the angry pixie and the Cybermen behind her.

Opal tutted. "It's been a pleasure talking to you both." She sneered. "But I have a party to enjoy, lots of shiny technology to utilise and a suitable title to decide upon. Queen Empress Opal has a nice ring to it. Oh, and I almost forgot, very soon I shall have a larger smile on my beautiful face because your miserable Mud gang will all be dead." She smiled once more and it was filled with iciness, shiny white teeth and pure hate before disconnecting the video link.

"Well, isn't she just a barrel of laughs." Amy commented at the blank screen and the rest silently agreed with her.

* * *

_Well, that mad pixie seems just a little miffed about being buried under a pile of rocks... and just a wee bit dramatic... :D _


	15. Evacuation

_Cheers for the reviews so far, lovely words, and I'm very happy that people are still intrested. So, exams, one down and four to go, thought I'd put this up as a mini-celebration :D Just watched the Eleventh hour again on TV... BBC Welsh Orchestra...you made the best music ever! Thank you. _

_Right then...on with the little story._

* * *

Evacuation

"Ah, right." The Doctor muttered to himself as he walked back to the window. "That didn't go as well as I had hoped."

Artemis nodded in agreement at the black screen, "She truly believes that the Cybermen are under her control. Are you positive that they are Doctor?"

"Hmm? What, oh yes. Cybermen never take orders from anyone else, complete contradiction. They think we need to be upgraded like them. Well, when I say _we_ I mean you humans. Me, I'm a rogue element." The Doctor waggled his eyebrows at Amy happily.

"So what's next?" She asked him, slightly excited by the whole situation, even though she knew not to be.

"We need a plan. A good plan. Something that works. That kind of plan." The Doctor replied as he looked over to Artemis who had fallen silent and closed his mismatched eyes. He opened them after a moment.

"I will do some research, give me an hour and then we will leave. Juliet, make preparations as we will be going to the Exposition to stop Opal. Inform Butler that he is to stay with the twins." Juliet nodded as Artemis rolled over to the desk and began to trawl through the Internet to find blueprints of the Paris Exposition, lists of invited guests for the opening night and the LEP database he had a stored copy of.

Juliet walked over to the other side of the room and slid back a section of the wooden panelling to reveal a metal safe embedded in the wall. After a quick glance at Amy and the Doctor, who looked away as she quickly keyed in the code, she began to pull various bits and pieces out.

The Doctor leaned over to whisper in Amy's ear as. "I'm going to the TARDIS, be back in a bit." And he strode off to the door.

She followed him out of the doorway and quickly grabbed hold of one of his braces and he stumbled backwards so that it didn't twang painfully on his shoulder. "Hey!" She whispered, "You're going without me?"

"You don't need to come. I'm only going to check if she's alright. Had a funny turn last time we ended up in a parallel universe, and she's all alone, sitting there in the dark. You wouldn't want to be left alone now would you Pond?" The Doctor said sadly, "My poor TARDIS."

Amy sighed, "Fine, but you better not leave me here. Come back soon." She ordered.

The Doctor beamed, "Yes ma'am." He mock saluted and then walked off towards the staircase. Amy turned around to walk back into the room, but before she did she saw the Doctor button up his jacket, lean over the side of the varnished, smooth oak staircase and disappear from sight as he side down.

Shaking her head and suppressing a chuckle at just how childish he could be she turned around and saw that Juliet was walking out the room as quietly as she could. She beckoned Amy over to the staircase and they walked down.

When they were halfway down Juliet whispered. "I suppose you're hungry?"

Amy shook her head. "No, we just left Noen VI. All the ice cream you could eat. I think I can't touch food for another week. They did sell banana flavoured ice cream, but apparently it was a rarity, out of stock, that sort of thing and the Doctor went ape. Kept rattling on about how banana flavoured ice cream was the best thing since sliced bread and the vendor was speechless! So was I, but I'm just a bit used to him." Amy laughed as she remembered.

Juliet just smiled back, confused about what the ginger woman meant, "Just wondering. Dom always makes more than enough. Anyway, we've got an hour to kill. Artemis will come down once he's finished and then we'll be off, no time for food then, more like chasing a mental pixie to save the world." They reached the bottom of the staircase and Juliet's voice had reached a normal volume. "Where did the Doctor go?"

"He went to see the TARDIS."

"What!" Juliet began to sprint to the front door and came close to knocking over a highly polished suit of armour. Amy ran after her, barely managing to keep up. Juliet came to a stop at the open front door and looked outside.

Amy slowed to a stop and leaned on the doorway. "Why'd you do that for?" She asked breathlessly.

"He wasn't supposed to leave." Juliet replied with a frown. She turned back to Amy. "You don't seem so worried."

"The Doctor can handle himself." Amy said confidently

"Oh yeah. And what if he runs into more of those Cybermen?" Juliet asked as she peered out into the dark.

"He'll probably, just run away." Amy reasoned and Juliet laughed as she turned to face the ginger woman.

"And do you know how he's going to get to, what was it? TAR-DIS?"

Amy looked out to the wrecked drive and blinked twice at what she saw. "Erm...like that." And she pointed at the Bentley which was being driven haphazardly down the long drive, weaving from left to right before ending up in a reasonably straight line. Then the cars lights switched on and illuminated the drive in soft yellow beams.

"Can he even drive?" Juliet asked as the car suddenly veered to the right of the road before correcting itself.

"Glad I'm not in it. No, he really can't drive." Amy replied truthfully as she remembered the words he had used to curse the TARDIS Instruction Manual. Most of them were in alien languages which the TARDIS had decided not to translate for her, but she had gotten the gist of it, what with him shouting and using his 'anger tone'. "Although, there's a good chance he's using his sonic screwdriver and he put the car on auto-pilot or something." She said hopefully. Juliet looked back at her unamused as the car disappeared from sight. "Well, I'm not hungry but I am quite thirsty. Which way to the kitchen Jules?"

"Come on, I'll show you, Pond." And the two walked off down the large hallway, Amy walking slightly behind Juliet so that the bodyguard couldn't see that she had crossed her fingers behind her back.

* * *

_LEP HQ, Atlantis _

"Keep those cameras up." Commander Glunk ordered as he stood in front of the large monitor bank at the LEP Atlantis HQ. All the civilians had been moved into the shuttle port and if need be, and he prayed to the gods that there wouldn't be that need, they would be able to evacuate to Haven. There was a team of technicians who were using the cameras, which were dotted around the streets of Atlantis, to track the march of the strange metal men. "Where are they now?" He barked. The technician he was standing over sighed, his little pixie ears twitched minutely. The Commander tended to bark a lot in times of stress, yet the pixie had hoped he would bark over someone else's shoulder.

"About two hundred yards further up the street since the last time you asked, sir." The pixie replied. _Which was about a minute ago_. He thought to himself.

"Don't get lippy with me. Keep monitoring them." Glunk instructed and began to rummage in his pockets for a fungus cigar. He pulled it out from his left trouser pocket and sighed. The brand had been Root's favourite, in fact the 'Beetroot Commander' had recommended it to him, centuries ago. _Julius would have absolutely loved this mess. I wonder what he would have been doing now. _Glunk thought to himself as he light the cigar, its green fumes curled up in the air. _Most probably justifying his nickname. _He let out a little scoff before leaning forwards over the shoulder of the pixie.

"How far are they away from here?" He asked seriously before clamping his teeth around the cigar.

"ETA twenty minutes sir." The pixie replied, and then sucked in a breath of fresh air as the Commander straightened up.

"I need you to send a message through to Commander Kelp." Glunk began.

"But sir, the magma flares, there are no communications." The pixie reminded him and Glunk scowled.

"Weapons report." He instructed and a sprite walked up with a clipboard.

"Yes sir." She bobbed nervously her green skin was paler than norm; she knew she was the bringer of bad news. "Calculations have indicated that LEP weapons such as the blasters will have no effect on the Cybermen. They have some sort of electrical shielding." She explained and watched Glunk puff away on his cigar.

"Any kind of defences?" He asked her.

"Not sure sir. The shielding withstands all types of assault in our projections based on what Retrieval attempted. "

"Cannons? Blasters?"

"No effect and the Cybermen appear to have their own, attached to their shoulders." She replied.

"Right. Where are they now?" The Commander turned back to the pixie.

"Sir, they are approaching the Frond Fountain. ETA sixteen minutes." The pixie replied professionally. Although he wouldn't admit it, he thought that the strange invading metal men were scarier than the Mud Men. At least with Mud Men you could knock them out with a level four beam from a Neutrino. These metal men kept on marching; level ten blasts had hardly any effect.

"Well then." He sighed and dunked the cigar into the pixie's flask of carrot juice, "It looks like you should save all your projections onto a portable device." He told the sprite who stared at him as he walked up to the front of the room so that he stood in front of the main screen.

"Listen up everyone." He shouted and the control room inside the Atlantis HQ fell silent, waiting for what the Commander was going to say next. "ETA of the Cybermen is in sixteen minutes. I want all civilians on shuttles to Haven in seven. This is an evacuation of Atlantis city. Code Red One, I repeat Code Red One."

He turned to the sprite who had gone even paler, her normally vibrant green skin tone was now a washed out pale one. "And you, you better have all your data; I think that the centaur is going to want it if we're going to stop these Cybermen." She nodded and ran back to her desk.

The whole control room was in organised chaos, people were running in and out of the doors, gathering up computer pads and equipment in a rush to meet the deadline of the flashing timer that someone had helpfully put up on the main screen. Outside there was a steady stream of people moving from the HQ to the shuttle port. Commander Glunk began to pat down his pockets again, hoping that another cigar would turn up. It didn't and as the last few sprites hurried out of the room, he followed with a sense of dread.

Haven wouldn't know what had happened until the shuttle doors at the port slid back with a pneumatic hiss and hysterical Atlantean civilians began to tell the news to anyone and everyone who was in the vicinity. "The Cybermen are coming." They wouldn't have much time to prepare.

Glunk strapped himself into his seat in the Atlantean ambassador's shuttle which had been commandeered by the LEP to take the equipment straight to Section Eight. It would have a suitable control room quickly set up to plan on how to stop the Cybermen. He scowled as the shuttle began to move off through the dark, murky waters of the Atlantic. They had never planned of an invasion from below; they had contingency plans for the Mud Men's probes and any future invasions. But from below, it was a sad irony.

Back in the abandoned Atlantis LEP HQ control room the timer that had been left on the screen reached 00:00 and began to blink in a bright red. The People's city of Atlantis had fallen and Haven was next.

* * *

_Uh-oh... Shocked, horrified, interested?...let me know by your reviews please... :D _


	16. Unstoppable Opal

_Thank you for your reviews :D Updates will be slower for the next few weeks, two exams down, three to go! This was almost finished so I decided to write up the ending of this chapter and stick it up here! :D Enjoy! _

* * *

Opal Unstoppable

_Paris, France_

Opal smirked as she rotated through the video feeds of Atlantis. Her little smirk slowly grew wider and wider as she saw what her lovely boys were doing to the city. They were so well behaved, only firing at the wretched LEP and leaving the buildings standing. She wished to be Empress, or Queen Empress, of a magnificent city not a wasteland. She clapped her hands in delight as the said pathetic LEP turned and retreated away after their little defences were blasted by her Cybermen's cannons. She watched, completely enthralled as her silver soldiers continued to march, forcing them from the last stronghold, the Atlantis LEP HQ, and out of the city completely. She applauded before she switched off the video feeds of the now abandoned city.

"Well done." She told the Cyberman who had refilled her champagne glass. "Atlantis has fallen as according to my plan and Haven shall be next." She told it and it stared back at her emotionlessly. She tapped her long red fingernails on the mahogany desk impatiently before saying what was on her mind.

"Well, aren't you going to congratulate your genius, beautiful leader?" She spat, annoyed at the Cyberman's slowness.

"Congratulations Miss Koboi." The Cyberman stated and she sulked.

"It'll have to do for now." She scowled, "At least those two snivelling pixies were generous with compliments. Perhaps I shouldn't have been so quick to discard them." She mused as she stood up. "Never mind. This won't be the matter for long." She shot a look at the Cyberman which then opened the door for her.

"Very soon the whole world will chant my name." And her eyes took on an almost glassy look as she pondered over her glorious future. After a moment she snapped out of it. "My throne shall be gold. Encrusted with diamonds and emeralds. They bring out my eyes." She told the Cyberman who diligently followed her as she walked out of the door and down the corridor.

"Now, stick to the plan. Have all the I-Pods been placed in position?" She asked with utter seriousness.

"Affirmative."

"All of them?" She asked and the Cyberman repeated his answer. Opal sighed dramatically as she paused in front of a large glossy white door. The Cyberman clunked two steps forward and held the door open for her. She entered into the room and surveyed it. Then she nodded in approval.

"Good work. You are efficient." She praised and the Cybermen watched as she walked up to a metal table which ran across the side of the room. She plucked up a small device which lay on top of a white cloth and held it up to the light, twisting it from side to side to examine it.

"It looks beautiful." She commented in admiration of her own work. "Two years and eleven months to design, three years in production and that nasty little compatibility problem, they were so insecure before and now completely fixed. Just look." She instructed the Cyberman. "With this I will rule the world."

She held out her little, child-sized palm and in it the little device. It looked like the average Bluetooth device, but the I-Pod was so much more than that. Sleek in design, silver and fairly small, it could be inserted over a person's ear. It was a technological wonder, by brainwaves linked the I-Pod to the central nervous system and then it could wirelessly control electrical devices, the main use was advertised as computers.

But a device so simple would have been quick and easy to design and make. It had taken so long because it had an underlying purpose. Its main purpose in fact was to control the humans, the stinking, stupid and frankly dim-witted Mud Men population of the planet. With the launch of the wondrous I-Pod taking place that very night at the Paris Exposition, the 'Technological Age' indeed, more like the Opal Era, she would be inches away from her dream. Ruler of the universe.

Opal replaced the I-Pod back on the table and looked on at the rows and rows of gift bags, ready to be snapped up by the 'distinguished guests' that were arriving for the exposition and the 'sneak preview' of the Technological Age it boasted. Quite a few of her inventions graced the floors above and she smiled once more, this time with her bright white teeth, as she knew that the Mud Men would simper and shower her in compliments over her shiny ideas. _And perhaps_...Opal wondered, _maybe I don't have to get rid of all the Mud Men. I could use some, put them on the moon and make them work in factories for more of my wonderful inventions. And they are better at complimenting my utter greatness than the Cybermen._

She pouted a little as she strode out the door and up to her room. It seemed, if she used the moon for that purpose, then she wouldn't be able to shoot it down. _Pity, it would have looked splendorous_.

_

* * *

_

Foaly's office, Section Eight, Haven

Holly stood outside Foaly's office in Section Eight. While he worked at the LEP he had a booth, but Section Eight had a much larger budget and Foaly was more than happy to dip into it to increase the square feet in which he could fill up with his _technological marvels_. Holly held up her hand to the bio scanner and it hummed quietly before the door hissed open. She walked through to find her friend clopping up and down nervously the narrow gap in between piles of..._stuff_. There was a pixie sitting in the corner looking morose in the half light which the emergency generators supplied.

"Glad to see your security is working." Holly quipped and Foaly stopping clopping to turn to face her.

"They don't need the generators they actually run on...never mind. It's good to see you." He told her, wrapping two hairy arms around the elf.

"Foaly! I'm fine. No squeaks from Opal just yet. Although, I'm surprised considering what she did to Fowl Manor." Holly said sighing heavily. "Who's your assistant?" She asked him with a smirk as she remembered what happened to the last one. Extremely singed eyebrows while testing the centaur's latest Neutrino. Apparently it had backfired due to a build up of excess nucleic energy as Foaly had explained while the little sprite was being hosed down with radiation foam.

"Onyx Koboi meet Major Holly Short. Vice versa." Foaly introduced them with a wave of his hands before walking over to pick up a keyboard.

"Koboi?" Holly asked him and Onyx jumped slightly in her seat from the malice in Holly's voice. "You have her _sister_ in your office? What in Frond's name are you thinking? Have you lost all your marbles!" Holly asked incredulously, while Onyx cowered in her seat. She had read the newspaper articles on the once-was Captain Short who resigned from the LEP and then was later rejoined service as a Major. She had heard rumours that she was both brilliant and mad; many people had seen her on TV in relation to Artemis Fowl, the Mud Boy who had found the existence of the People and threatened it. The Major and the Mud Boy were best friends.

"She's not my sister. I disowned her years ago." Onyx piped and squirmed under Holly's gaze. The Major blinked twice and then looked at Foaly.

"She's been a diligent worker since the day she started at the LEP." Foaly commented. Holly could hear the underlying message in his tone. _She's not the Koboi you're looking for. _

Holly nodded and Onyx attempted to smile back. It wasn't a real smile, but she had tried. The Major still scared her. "Onyx, I want you to reroute all the power to the video feeds to the main ones. Police Plaza, the shuttle port, the main thoroughfare, all of them. We need to be able to see when these _Cybermen _appear."

Onyx nodded and spun around to begin typing at the computer. Holly leaned on the table in the centre of the room, careful to put her elbow on the side where there was no equipment. "Foaly, Opal's targeted Artemis, and the message says we're next." She told him seriously.

"She can't get here. Those Cybermen are louder than a drunken troll on stinkworm juice." Foaly told her as he reset all proximity alarms for Section Eight as they had been affected by the power cut.

"I just want to be prepared. Where's your little weapons cabinet?" She asked him with a smirk.

"_Little weapons cabinet,_" Foaly mimicked, the words stung him. "I'll have you known, those little weapons have been in design and development for the past twenty years, hours of work and..." He clopped over to a large cabinet on the side wall and keyed in the code. The door hissed back and Holly stepped forwards to pull out a large gun. "They probably cost more that your total salary for half a century."

"Fine, they're not little, they're amazing." Holly corrected and the centaur smiled. Onyx chuckled from her seat before turning back quickly to the video feeds.

"Foaly?" She called, "Are these live?"

"Of course they're live. Why would I have video feeds which were out of date?" He asked and she shook her head.

"The sensors are picking up some, some sort of energy in the corridor outside but I can't see anything." She explained as he walked over. Holly followed too as she adjusted the beam on the largest gun from the cabinet to 'Level 11'.

Foaly tapped some buttons on the screen to refresh the feed. "No, it's definitely live."

The proximity alarms were set off as hazy distortions filled the air outside in the corridor on the screen. "Are they working properly?" Foaly muttered as he checked. "They've picked up something." He told the other two and they watched the screen closely. Blue light streamed from the air from no particular source and then faded in to a shape which was the size of a man. Not an elf or a sprite, but Mud Man sized with clean lines and shiny metal surfaces.

"Oh, that's not good." Onyx squeaked as she saw the teleported Cyberman walk in measured pace down the corridor towards the only room at the end of it. Foaly's office.

"Told you she wouldn't let us be." Holly said as she clicked the gun in place. It whirred noisily and then displayed full green bars.

"How did it get in?" Foaly asked in amazement.

"Oh, yeah. I'll just go and ask." Holly replied sarcastically as she moved to the door and opened it cautiously.

The Cyberman was halfway down the corridor. It paused where it stood and outstretched its arm. Holly raised the large gun and aimed it at the chest. She fired it and the Cyberman jerked on the spot. Then it fired back. A shot of blue energy flew into the wall just inches from her face and carved out a chunk of the wall. Her eyes grew wide and she quickly slammed the door shut and leaned against it.

"What happened? Did it work? Level eleven?" Foaly asked anxiously even though he could hear the pneumatic hissing sounds as the Cyberman made its way closer to the door. Holly shook her head quickly and then when the footsteps stopped she sprinted away from the door and tackled Foaly to the ground as the door was destroyed. Onyx yelped as chunks crashed to the ground and dust filled the air. The Cybermen stepped into the office and Holly dragged Foaly's hoofs under the table at the side of the room.

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_Review please to let me know how I'm doing :D _


	17. CyberMeal

_Thank you for all your reviews and comments :D  
Sorry about the delay...Had exams... and I was a little stuck on what to do for the next few chapters...but that's all sorted and while that block was up...I've been writing ahead. Again...I now know where it fits into the DW cannon, after they meet the Silurians...And I've been welding it into cannon with certain bit later on! _

_I had fun with this title!  
I found Holly difficult to write...any comments/crits are welcome. I'd like to make it better! :D _

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CyberMeal

"Holly." Foaly whispered in alarm as she shoved his hoofs closer to his chest.

"Yes, I know Foaly." She whispered back. The Cyberman clomped forwards into the room and Holly scrambled out from under the table and reached for the large blaster which lay abandoned on the floor amidst the rubble from the destroyed door. The Major fired it again several times at the Cyberman but it only paused momentarily before advancing towards her, arm outstretched with blue electricity crackling around it.

"Foaly..." She called, "You're supposed to be a genius, if the gun doesn't work, how about attacking it with your precious equipment?"

"Those are all prototypes; I've been working on them for over-" He stopped talking as she reached for what looked like the new design for the latest Neutrino 9000. She smashed it against the Cyberman's shoulder and then skipped back.

The Cyberman replied with the generic, "You will be deleted."

Holly nodded grimly before throwing the prototype with all her strength at the Cyberman's head. It jerked backwards but then continued to stomp forwards.

"D'Arvit." Holly hissed.

She backed away with measured steps, looking to see if it had any weaknesses, but it was metal and continued to march forwards. Holly stumbled over something and she realised it was Onyx. She shook the little pixie's shoulder and pushed her behind, so that they circled the table in the centre of the room once more. As they reached the Foaly's desk she pushed Onyx underneath and then bent down to pick up a piece of steel which once made up part of the door.

"Come on." She whispered as the Cybermen turned around to face her again. Then she launched at it with the metal lump and whacked it twice on the chest before retreating to the other side of the table.

"You will be deleted." It repeated.

"Foaly, anytime you want to lend a hand." Holly called breezily.

"I'm not so good with field situations. Caballine says that I'm more of a desk man." He responded as Holly let out a tense laugh.

"Take a look around." She said as she reached to hit the Cyberman again. There was a resounding clang as metal struck metal. "This isn't the field. It's your office. For Frond's sake there must be something." She said frustrated as the Cybermen almost grasped hold of her neck but she stumbled back in time.

"I..." The centaur said flustered.

"Critters." Onyx squeaked as the Cybermen spoke again.

"Two to be deleted. You will be deleted." It spoke in robotic monotone.

"Ah, you're sister isn't completely enraged that you've disowned her." Holly said sarcastically, ducking to avoid a swipe from the Cyberman. "She only wants me and Foaly deleted."

"Holly, not now." Foaly called, "Watch out!" As the Cybermen stomped forwards and the blaster on its shoulder whirred ominously. Holly dove to the ground as a bolt of blue energy blasted into the wall behind her.

"Hurry up with whatever you're doing." She shouted back and then shuffled backwards.

Foaly scrabbled for his phone on the desk and then found in, returning to his hiding place and wiping the dust off the screen. Then he began to type. "Ok, Holly, you remember my Critters." He called.

He liked to talk while he worked, and he talked even more because he was stressed. It was his way of coping. Onyx, on the other hand, had buttoned up like a clam when the Walrus came walking by, she sat with her legs clutched tight to her chest, hoping that it was all a dream and that in reality her sister wasn't as mad or power crazy. Unfortunately for her, it was all real.

"I remember being the test subject." Holly called as she crawled under the table and watched the Cyberman's silver legs walk around.

"Well, using my brilliant mi-p's I can control them. You know, I've created nearly a thousand now. Very helpful."

"Make it helpful now!" Holly ordered.

Foaly typed. "I'm creating a whole new programme for them. What should I call it...CyberMeal has a nice ring. Right. Base instructions down; fine-tune it so that it doesn't eat _all_ the metal in the room. And...saved."

"Have you done it?" She asked as the Cybermen stepped in front of her.

"Almost. You see the little pen like device on the table?" Foaly asked. Holly quickly moved backwards and rummaged her hands over the mess on the table as the Cyberman advanced again. _It's relentless_. She thought slightly amazed, as it continued its mission to try and delete her. Her finger grasped a small slim pen and she waved it in the air.

"This?" She asked, not taking her eyes off the metal man.

"Yes, point it at the Cyberman and unzip the pocket on your suit to release the Critters." He instructed hastily.

Holly pointed the pen with her left hand and then with her right hand unzipped the flap on her left forearm. The little Critters, or Coded Radiation Tracers, flew up into the air, lazily chasing each other for a second. Then they saw the beam of ultra violet light which highlighted their mark.

The little round orange blobs converged on it, speeding through the air and landing on the chest of the Cyberman. Then, they began to eat through the Cyber metal and after thirty seconds, there was a fist sized, very neat, round hole in the centre of its chest. The Cyberman attempted to take another step forwards but whirred like a computer which was overheating before it staggered and collapsed, metal face first onto the soft, grey and now very dusty carpet.

Holly sighed loudly in relief as Foaly clambered to his feet. They surveyed the mess of his office for a moment and looked at the Cyberman on the floor. Foaly was the first to speak. "I've been wanting to update that entrance for months."

Holly nudged him with her shoulder. "You got your excuse." She said after a moment of silence as her heart rate began to lower to a healthier rate.

"Is it dead?" Onyx called from under the desk. She was still huddled underneath in a tight ball.

"Yes, you can come out now." Foaly replied as he tried to salvage some of the remaining prototypes which hadn't been destroyed by the Cyberman.

"That was..." She trailed off as she stepped around the Cyberman on the floor. "Not fun." Onyx decided.

"Really? Wouldn't have noticed, I was a little busy." Holly replied curtly as she reached for Foaly's superphone. "We need to contact Artemis. This was part of Opal's plan. Maybe he needs our help." She frowned.

"The magma flares-" Onyx started but she cut her off immediately.

"Yes, I know! But there's more going on here than I think we ever expected." Holly informed Onyx harshly, and then she turned back to her friend. "Foaly?" Onyx walked off to the other side of the room and sat down on the chair facing away from them.

"Maybe...I can boost the signal?" He said slowly, considering it. "It might not work." He added.

"Do it." She told him and he reached for more wires and optic fibres as well as a laptop which had been left behind by a certain Mud Man years ago.

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_Leave a review! :D _


	18. Parallel Amy

_Hi, thanks for the reviews...you're all thinking ahead to the end and wondering what's gonna happen, well, you won't have to wait very long. Now, we're over the hill which is also known as the middle of the story so less chapters to go than there has been so far. Can't be any more precise than that! _

_In this chapter...things parallel travel throws up...and the technicalities of a certain blue box :D enjoy!_

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Parallel Amy

Amy Pond pulled herself up onto a stool at the breakfast bar in the Fowl's kitchen and Juliet passed her a glass of orange juice. Becket was playing with his dinner, pushing the chips from one side of the plate to the other while Myles had abandoned his completely and was typing on his laptop. Juliet excused herself and said that she was going to help her brother tidy up the study and check on security.

Amy was the first to cave in to the awkward silence that filled the squeaky clean kitchen. "So, you're Irish. I'm from Scotland. Well, I moved to Leadworth when I was five, boring little village with a duck pond that has no ducks. Pretty much sums it all up."

Beckett scoffed at the imagery of the little town. "You moved when you were five and you still have the accent?" He asked.

She shrugged noncommittally. "I did a history essay once, long time ago, probably younger than you two. Could've gone two ways I suppose. I did deliberate for a while." She waved her hand in the air with a little flourish and Beckett watched her amused. "The Swarm of the Little Green Leprechauns."

Myles frowned from behind the laptop but Beckett grinned. "Of course," Amy continued. "There wasn't much competition with the Invasion of the Hot Italians."

"Guess not." Myles quipped.

"You're twins. So which one's which?" Amy asked Beckett because Myles had returned his attention back to his laptop.

"I'm Beckett Fowl, and my brother." Beckett introduced and shot his twin a sideward glance, "Is Myles."

"Blonde Beckett and moody Myles, easy to remember I suppose." Amy grinned as she took a sip of her juice.

"And you're Amy. Amy what?" Myles asked politely.

"Amy Pond." She replied as Myles typed something on the laptop before turning it around so that it faced her.

"You said that you were from a parallel universe. But you're here." He said confused. Amy looked at the screen. It was a Facebook page, her Facebook page actually. She stared at the profile picture. It was her, wearing a top that she had bought a little while ago, with her arm slung around a man's shoulder. A blond haired man who was smiling, just like she was.

"Don't you have to friend someone to see their page?" She asked a little disgruntled.

"So it is you?" Beckett asked her and she shook her head slowly.

"Not me. I don't know him." She pointed at the screen. "Must be, I dunno, some sort of parallel me?" She tilted her head to the side as she read through some of the comments on _her_ profile page. But what really caught her attention was her status, _she _was engaged. "Do you think she looks happy?" Amy asked quietly.

The door swung open and the Doctor strode in. "Hello everyone. Chips!" He leaned over the breakfast bar and plucked a chip from Beckett's plate. He popped it into his mouth and chewed enthusiastically before slowing down and looking thoughtful.

Then he swallowed noisily. "Not bad. Not as great as fish custard. I don't think anything could beat fish custard!" The Doctor decided but Amy wasn't looking at him. Beckett was, with a baffled expression at the fish custard comment. Myles, on the other hand, was watching Amy intently.

"Amy? What's on the laptop?" He moved around the bar to see the screen. "Ah." He stated and looked from her to the screen and then back again. "Yeah, parallel world, generally tends to throw up a parallel you. Parallel Amy!" He laughed but she didn't join in. "She's not you Amy." He reminded her as he pushed the laptop screen down.

Amy blinked and looked at him before batting his hand away and pushing the screen back up again. "Yes, I know, she just...looks like me." She looked back at the screen once more. "Do you think she's happy, engaged? He looks, alright. They're both smiling." She babbled.

"Rory Williams." The Doctor read out from the screen. He tilted his head from side to side before looking at Amy and prodding his nose before jerking his head at the screen. "A bit, you know." He said and Amy elbowed him.

"Oi! His nose isn't that bad. He sorta looks, cute." She shrugged as she defended her parallel self's fiancée. "His nose is fine, Doctor."

"Not if you zoom in on it." The Doctor replied with a little giggle and the quickly stepped back to avoid Pond's elbow again. Beckett chuckled at the pair while Myles turned his attention to the Doctor.

"There's no mention of you." He informed the man with the bowtie.

"What?"

"No mention of a man called the Doctor." Myles explained.

"Really?" The Doctor replied with a frown and then pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "Searching for the Doctor." He said as he pointed it at the screen and they watched as web pages flicked by, refreshing at an alarming rate.

"What are you doing?" Myles asked, equally alarmed.

"Just searching super sonically." The Doctor leaned in to the screen as a blue message box appeared. "No references to the Doctor." He read aloud. "No!" The Doctor said as he exhaled. "A universe without me?"

He pocketed the sonic with a frown. "Not a picture, not even wandering in the background of a picture." He said sulkily and then he threw his hands up in the air. "How will you lot," He pointed at the three humans sitting on the stools, "ever manage without me!" He asked dramatically.

Amy's head snapped up from the screen to watch him as he walked around the kitchen, muttering that the human race would inevitably get itself into the most sticky situations and she decided that a parallel Amy who looks happy is better than no parallel Amy at all.

"So, how's the TARDIS?" She asked and the Doctor stopped pacing.

He sighed. "She's fine. Still...pretty dead. Not sure how we're going to get back." He leaned against a black marble worktop. "I'm sorry Amy, I truly am. I am so so sorry." He told her with serious eyes.

"Not your fault." She replied sadly, before closing the screen of the laptop.

"So this, TAR-DIS. It's your spaceship?" Beckett asked enthusiastically. The Doctor nodded, smiling at him. "What's it like. Oh, I bet it's got huge engines, all futuristic and metallic and just massive."

Amy snorted, just a little and the Doctor glared at her. "Erm, not, metallic." The Doctor said and Myles smirked.

"My brother likes to watch films. Too many films." He explained.

"Well I've never seen a spaceship, only shuttle pods and those were all Foaly's designs." Beckett retorted.

"So I'm guessing that the People like a futuristic sort of design?" The Doctor enquired, interested in the species below the surface.

"Yep." Beckett answered, "So what's yours like?"

Amy butted in and answered for him. "It's a small wooden blue box. A blue Police Box from the 1960's."

"I thought they were red?" Myles interjected.

"Nope. The bluest of blue." The Doctor answered with a small smile.

"A small blue box? That's your spaceship?" Beckett asked for clarification.

"No. It's a time and space ship." The Doctor corrected as he reached for another chip.

Beckett frowned. "I don't understand."

"It's bigger on the inside." The Doctor added.

"That's true." Amy nodded, "The wardrobe is probably bigger than this whole house. I got lost looking for the miniskirts."

"So what do the engines run on?" Myles asked, drawn into the oddness of the conversation.

The Doctor swallowed, "Chips, the novelty's wearing off. Oh, timey wimey stuff." He answered.

"Now you're just making it all up." Beckett said with a scowl.

"No, I'm serious. If you think of time from a non-linear, non subjective viewpoint, outside all other definitions and towards a more abstract view, it's actually a big ball, of, wibbly wobbly, timey, wimey stuff. You can't make this stuff up!" The Doctor explained or tried to.

"You know, he talks to the machine." Amy confided in the boys while the Doctor walked over to the fridge. "Calls it sexy and everything. It can get weird, but he's right, it's an impossible box." She raised her voice and staring at him, "With a madman driving it!"

The Doctor turned around and pointed at himself in a 'who me? ' sort of way. Amy nodded seriously. He was about to protest but realised she was speaking the truth. Mad man in a blue box. That was him. He nodded along with the statement because it was true.

Artemis walked into the kitchen and straightened his shirt. "We're leaving now Doctor. Are you still prepared to come?" He asked seriously.

The Doctor looked at him and nodded. "Always ready, aren't we Pond?"

Amy downed the rest of her juice. "All ready." She told him and Artemis nodded in acknowledgement.

The twins stood up from their stools but Artemis turned to face them. "Not you." They both opened their mouths to protest. "You can't argue with me. You stay here. Butler will keep you safe." He told them.

Myles nodded while grimacing, because he could see the logic in it. Beckett was more vocal. "But we could help!" He protested.

Artemis shook his head. "No, you stay here where you're safe. Opal is going to take revenge on me, and I don't want you two to get hurt. You stay here with Butler where you're safe." He instructed and Beckett nodded with defeat. "Juliet is waiting in the car, Doctor, Amy?"

"Yes, on our way." The Doctor told him and Amy followed Artemis out of the kitchen with a little wave to the twins.

The Doctor was behind them but Beckett spoke. "Doctor, so this TARDIS." The Doctor spun around on the spot. "It's not working."

"No, not at the moment." He replied sadly.

"But, it's still undamaged?" Myles asked curiously.

"Yes." The Doctor answered.

"Maybe, when you come back we can help you fix it." Myles suggested and the Doctor smiled.

"I think it's nice you offered, but she's a very complicated ship with odd behaviours. Probably best I give it a shot first." He turned around, before turning back to them. "Although, I could probably give you a brief tour of the engine."

"Better come back in one piece then." Myles told him and the Doctor grinned before sprinting down the corridor.

* * *

Butler stood at the doorway and the Doctor strode past. He paused, turned around and looked up at the large bodyguard."I'll bring them back. I promise." The Doctor said sincerely.

"Make sure you do. Or it won't make a difference where you hide." Butler replied gravely.

The Doctor nodded with a small smile and then he stared up at the large man who looked past him, gazing at the car parked in the driveway. "We're similar, you know." The Doctor stated after a short silence. Butler looked down at him and took in the shorter, younger looking alien with intelligent eyes and floppy hair.

"How?" He asked bemused.

"We don't look our age." The Doctor winked. "How old are you really?" He asked curiously.

"How do you know?" The huge bodyguard asked suspiciously.

"You're sort of wrong. Not as bad as Jack, but there's just something about you, doesn't quite fit in with this time." The Doctor explained.

"Fifteen years younger. A healing which needed to use some of my life energy. Could have been a lot worse though." Butler replied and the Doctor nodded his head thoughtfully. "And you?"

The Doctor looked away from the waiting car and straight at Butler. "I'm nine hundred and eight."

Butler's eyes widened slightly but he didn't comment. "Just bring back Artemis and Juliet safely." He instructed seriously.

"Doctor! Enough of the chin wagging!" Amy shouted as she stuck her head out of the window of the seat behind Juliet. Juliet, on the other hand, had decided to go for the more direct message and honked the horn loudly, twice.

"Best be off. Don't want your sister to body slam me because of my poor time keeping. The Cybermen should come back. Stay indoors and relax." The Doctor advised. He clapped Butler on the top of his arm, since he couldn't reach any higher and then sprinted off to the car and ran around to the passenger seat. Artemis was already seated next to Amy in the back. Juliet waved to her brother and then revved the engine before speeding off down the drive. The four were off to the Paris Exposition.

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_Review to let me know what you think! :D _


	19. A Quick Call To Say

_Hey, so, I'm like :D because you lot like where this is going. And, here's another chapter! Quick update eh? _

_Again, because of the many characters in this chapter I'm not so sure if I got everyone down alright...if you think I haven't written someone as good as I could, let me know please so then I can improve it. Thanks :D_

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A Quick Call To Say...

_Foaly's (destroyed) office, Section Eight, Haven_

"It's working." Foaly said as he plugged in the last wire and tuned the aerial.

"How long do I have?" Holly asked.

"Well, I boosted the signal by thirty four percent by routing the laptop battery's signal through the relay of the communicator." Foaly looked over to Holly who just blinked. His tail flicked in slight annoyance as the technical brilliance of his work went straight over her head. "Not very long. The magma flares are pretty big. About five, maybe six minutes, so keep it short and sweet." He advised. She nodded and twisted the communicator in her hand to dial.

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_A6 to Paris_

Artemis sat in the car while Amy leaned against the window. The Doctor sat in front and was constantly chatting about completely unrelated topics, skipping from Charlie Chaplin to Cleopatra and then to an explanation of time as a big ball of 'wibbly wobbly' stuff and some creatures called 'weeping angels'. He was distracted by his ring flashing red. He twisted it around in his palm and what looked like a telephone with his hand, extending his thumb and little finger. Amy paused mid-sentence to stare at him.

"Hello Holly." Artemis said worriedly.

"Thank Frond you answered!" His fairy friend replied.

Artemis was immediately alert, "Why? Has something happened to Haven?"

"Not yet. Although Atlantis was abandoned. The whole population is being evacuated to Haven, but those, Cybermen, the Ops room are monitoring them. Haven is assumed to be next and we can't fight them. Nothing works." She paused, "Well, almost nothing. Unless you've got a spare factory up your sleeve to produce a couple billion Critters."

Artemis considered the statement and then laughed, "Foaly modified the program?"

"Yes, but it only stopped one Cyberman. There's a whole army ready to march onto Haven. The People are in a panic." She paused again, "And, you didn't hear this from me, especially if Trouble asks, but if they do attack and we can't defend, it looks like the surface is next. We'll have to run to you Mud People, and if we can't fight them..." She trailed off.

Artemis sighed and the Doctor twisted around on his seat. "Is that...a phone?" He asked, staring at the ring. Artemis nodded. "Speakerphone?" The Doctor asked and Artemis shook his head. He pointed his sonic at Artemis' hand and it buzzed quietly.

"Hello there!" The Doctor greeted and Amy frowned.

"It's rude to butt into other people's conversations." She told him and the Doctor waved a hand at her.

"This is the Doctor." He continued. "The Cybermen have their own plan, as we all know, and more often than not it includes the taking of Earth." He stated.

Holly's voice sounded from the ring. "Artemis? Are you still there?"

"Yes, and you're on speakerphone now. Juliet is here with me, and the Doctor and Amy."

"Hello." The Doctor repeated as he flipped his sonic screwdriver in his fingers.

"Who are you?" Holly asked suspiciously.

"I'm the Doctor." He replied.

"The Doctor has some experience in fighting the Cybermen." Artemis explained. "And Amy is his, friend."

"I thought that Opal built them." Holly said.

"No, the Cybermen walked across the Void. They're from a parallel universe. They must have selected Opal Koboi as part of a plan to advance their interests." The Doctor explained with a frown, although Holly couldn't see him. "Who are you?"

"Major Holly Short of the Lower Elements Police. State your rank Doctor."

"I'm the Doctor. Rank, is, Doctor." He replied plainly and Amy smiled at him.

"Artemis," Holly sighed, "you know that the Council are not going to be happy that there are other humans who know about-"

The Doctor interrupted her. "Not a human!"

"And I'm a parallel Amy!" Amy added hastily, not wanting to be left out.

"I assume, when this is over and if we are still alive, the Doctor and Amy shall meet the LEP." Artemis concluded.

Holly hummed in agreement. "Look Arty, things aren't going so good down here. And, you've been a good friend to the People for a long time, in Mud Man standards." She paused, "We're hoping that you have a genius plan up those Armani sleeves."

"Armani? We are, however on our way to the Paris Exposition. Opal is based there and we shall have a better chance of stopping her and the Cyberman, preferably before they begin their own tactics. The Doctor and I believe that they are using her, but she is blind to it. Honestly, she's mad." Artemis replied.

"Yes. We know that." Holly laughed sarcastically. "What about the Doctor, what exactly are these Cybermen."

The Doctor bopped his head and leaned against the headrest, "The Cybermen. Basically, cybernetics and organic material. A human brain inside a body of steel with a heart of metal. They run on logic and calculations and have no emotions." He summarized.

"Ok, Foaly's just rigged the speaker up to the laptop. He can hear you now too." Holly informed.

"So, Cyber-man." Foaly mused.

"Hi," A female voice sounded, "Onyx Koboi, see I'm wondering, if it's a human brain inside a body of steel, can't we just blue rinse Atlantis?" Onyx asked nervously.

"Did you just say Koboi?" Artemis asked in mild shock.

"Mmm, Opal's little sister but you're time's running out Mud Boy, this signal's not going to last long, let's just stick to the important bits." Foaly quickly said as a burst of static chased his voice down the phone line.

"Ok then. What's a blue rinse?" Amy asked.

"A biological bomb. It destroys only living tissue. That sounds good Onyx, it could work. Depending on those shields, maybe a little adjustment of the half life..." Foaly said.

"No." The Doctor responded with a solemn tone. "No bio bombs."

"Why?" Onyx asked, "Wouldn't it work?"

"The Cybermen would just search for more organic material to replace whatever tissue was destroyed. Sure, they might not be able to take over the world after the bio bomb, but it would only slow them down." The Doctor clarified. "No, our best bet is stopping them before they start."

"I'll have to inform the Council of this. It's half a plan, even if it might not work." Holly told them.

"Major, you can't bio bomb the Cybermen." The Doctor argued.

"It's a defence. It's a plan. And it's the best thing we've got at the moment, _Doctor._ And if the People's technology can somehow slow the Cybermen down to give the humans a little more time then so be it. You have no authority over the People." Holly replied tersely.

"How long do you think it will take until the Cybermen reach Haven?" Artemis asked quickly.

"ETA is...four hours. And that's being generous." Foaly said. There was a longer burst of static and they were all reminded of the magma flares.

"Hello? Can you hear me? We are leaving Dijon now; we should be in Paris in about three." Juliet said.

"Hello Juliet. Nice to be reminded that my mind wipe equipment doesn't work on any humans affiliated with Fowl." Foaly grumbled. "How the wrestling going?"

"Wrestling is a quiet life." The bodyguard mumbled before grinning in the rear view mirror at Artemis. "Working for Artemis is much more interesting." Foaly snickered louder before he stopped abruptly.

"Artemis, has Mulch contacted you lately?" Holly asked curiously. "Because we can't seem to contact him. He was supposed to be undercover in a covert observation of some dwarfs who were trying to get their hands on some batteries."

"I have been keeping tabs on our hairy friend, he is fine at the moment, and I believe that his observation was _'duller than a couple of goblins solving a Sudoku puzzle'._"

Holly chuckled, and a whinny was heard in the background, "Artemis, do you have a plan?"

"As I said before Holly, not yet." He replied with a slightly strained voice. The genius was feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders, both of the humans and the People's fate rested in his plotting talents, which frankly had not been used to such an extent in over a decade. Artemis had been following in his father's footsteps, trying his best to become the hero in a life his father offered. One which revolved around his family, his mother, father and brothers, because as he had come to realise, family was the one thing all the money in the world couldn't buy. And he didn't need all the money in the world if he had them.

While it had been difficult at the start for Artemis to shake of the urge to commit criminal acts, his conscious and brain had offered him new areas in which to use his talents. Like a new and improved Ice Cube which now sat on the Arctic ice and several liberated paintings which adorned the walls of galleries around the world.

"So you're going to the exposition where both Opal and the Cybermen are and you don't have a proper plan." Holly stated unamused.

"That is correct." Artemis replied, smiling as he imagined Holly's face and her frustration.

"But we do it brilliantly." Juliet reminded.

"Besides I shall be able to construct a plan once I have gathered more details on Opal's." Artemis added.

"We think best on out feet too, don't we Pond?" The Doctor chimed in as he continued to fiddle with his sonic screwdriver.

"That is correct." Amy agreed.

"Just, be careful Arty." Holly said before the signal was lost and static filled the silence in the car.

"Oooh, Arty." Amy teased and Artemis ignored her. He leaned forwards to see over the headrest of the Doctor's seat.

"What kind of technology is that?" He asked curiously.

The Doctor turned around again to face him, then looked down at his sonic and sighed dramatically. "Do we really have to get into this now?" He asked and Artemis smirked.

"It is a long drive to Paris, Doctor."

"Some things are best left unsaid." The Time Lord replied. "And what was that about mind wipe equipment?"

"Some things are best left unsaid Doctor." Artemis repeated, "Besides, the Council will not use it on you or Amy. You're not ordinary Mud Men." Amy raised her eyebrows, "Or Mud Women." He added. "I think they'd like to question a Time Lord." The Irishman smiled a wolfish smile and the Doctor frowned.

"In general, the authorities, government, Torchwood for a century and lots of other officials and me do not get along. Maybe we'll just head back to the TARDIS once this is over." The Doctor replied.

"I think that Foaly would be able to help you fix your TARDIS." Artemis added.

She put her foot down on the accelerator. "Seatbelt Doctor." She instructed. "I think horsey boy would be able to fix whatever needs fixing." Juliet said as they reached the motorway.

The Doctor's frown deepened. "Doubt it." He said as he clicked it in and they sped of the city of lights and romance to save the world and everything under it.

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_Review please! :D _


	20. Piece of Cake

_Hello :D So, a week's break...and now I'm back! Updates should be regular again too. Thank you for all the reviews, I'm happy that you like reading cos I like writing. :D _

_To, the other ghost girl: Bummer on the internet restrictions, but I hope you like this chapter :D _

_To, TARDIS hijacker: Glad you love this story! Some two hearts conversation below, and yes, the Doctor can keep a secret, but after seeing the big blue box, will the fairies be extremely inquisitive? :D _

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Piece of Cake

The car journey was like any other in the history of time. Amy was annoyed at having to sit for so long, and used to travelling by TARDIS; she disliked the lack of room and the ability to wander around. The Doctor preferred to fill the silence with chat and he roped in Artemis and they debated genius stuff. Amy had to intervene when it came to the number of decimal points of Pi.

"I have finished unfinished symphonies." Artemis argued.

"I've met the composers who left them unfinished. Beethoven..." The Doctor shook his head while tutting. "No wonder there were a few unfinished works."

"I was a child prodigy. I gained my pilot's license at the age of seventeen." Artemis interjected.

"I...chucked the TARDIS manual into a supernova." The Doctor said slowly, looking thoughtful. "But, I have a binary cardiovascular system. Want to race?"

Artemis rolled his eyes. "On Arabian horses?" He asked. Riding was still his only preferred sport, no matter how many times he cursed himself on one of their escapades, he couldn't bring himself to '_sweat it out_' in the gym.

Juliet was half listening, and if any part of the conversation dropped in key words such as 'bazooka', 'half-nelsons' or 'dropping Cybermen with roundhouse kicks or spin 'n' slams' she would tune in properly. But for the time being, she watched the road with full concentration and kept her foot firmly pressed down on the accelerator, passing cars in the fast lane at an alarming rate.

* * *

Juliet parked the car on the street across from the Eiffel Tower. Amy was the first out of the car, pushing the door wide open and hopping out while stretching her arms. "A multi billionaire or not Arty, you really need a bit of leg room in there." She complained.

"I shall bear that in mind." He replied with a smirk.

"Don't mind her, TARDIS, bigger on the inside." The Doctor brushed off the sarcastic comment and Amy shrugged her shoulders before turning to look up at the world famous monument.

It towered over them in a massive shadow of metal and the lights twisted around the structure flashed in the dark of the night. She smiled at it before turning to them and then turning back. "Rory always said we'd go here for our honeymoon." She said quietly.

"Who's Rory?" Juliet asked as she pulled out her 'special' bag from the boot and slung it across her back.

"Hmm?" Amy asked as she turned to face them. "What was that?" Juliet frowned but dropped it.

Artemis checked his watch. "Nine o'clock. He should be here."

"Who?" Amy asked.

"I think I hear him." Artemis continued talking without answering. He walked towards the hedges in the gardens next to the tower. Juliet skipped forwards in front of him and then walked behind the green mass out of sight from the two time travellers.

"Oh..." She broke off as she saw their friend.

A gruff voice replied, and he sounded miffed. "Oh, well if you're going to be like that to the frankly genius person who's saved your life, and your plans countless times, I might as well pop back down the hole. I've heard that Peru is nice this time of year, and the soil consistency is supposed to be extremely refreshing."

"Mulch!" She greeted, "You won't be offended if I don't give you a hug hello." She said happily.

"To be honest, not many people do, I think I'd prefer it to be honest. I'm not one of those hugging people. Though, for you Mud Boy, I'd make an exception." Mulch said as he chewed noisily on something. Artemis smiled and nodded hello, but he didn't want to ask what Mulch was eating, he doubted that he would want that knowledge; after all, the dwarf couldn't walk into the nearest McDonalds's.

Amy stared at the little hairy man and her mouth hung slightly open, even the Doctor had fallen silent. The Scottish woman found her voice first. "Err, hello little hairy man." She said awkwardly as she took in Mulch's dishelleved appearance.

He was coated in dirt but she could see his gleaming white teeth, which to her seemed as though there were a lot inside his mouth. He had a mop of hair covering his face, but it was wiry and seemed to move by itself because the breeze was only blowing in one direction. And, Amy thought that if she squinted a little and tipped her head around fifty degrees to the right, the little hairy man could potentially look as though he was smiling at her in a friendly manner.

"This is Mulch." Artemis introduced. "He has various talents that I believe are useful."

"Useful?" Mulch asked incredulously. "Now, that is the highest praise coming from you Artemis." He patted his dungarees down. "Although, I don't think I have my thank you speech on me. A work of art that, four feet long thanking my drycleaner and my dear old mum." He scoffed.

"Said talents include a diploma in breaking and entering. But, I tunnel on the right side of the law now, have done for years." He turned his attention to the odd looking young man in the bowtie and openly laughed at him. "What is that?" He pointed to the little bowtie on his neck.

"Oh, I'm the Doctor, hello." He gave a little wave and pointed at the bowtie. "This is a bowtie. Bowties are cool. And, if you don't mind me asking, what species are you?" He asked curiously.

Mulch sniggered. "Bowtie? I can remember the days when those were fashionable. And that was a long time ago. I'm a dwarf." He added matter-of-factly.

"No way." Amy said with wide eyes.

"Yes ginger." Mulch said.

Amy paused in thought, "Right on hairy man." She decided.

"Although, you don't smell like a human." Mulch said to the Doctor.

"Time Lord." The Doctor replied.

Mulch raised his bushy eyebrows and nodded. "Interesting." He quipped.

Artemis brought them all back on topic. "Now, the Opal and the Cybermen are based inside the Paris Exposition building just behind the Eiffel Tower."

The Doctor nodded. "First thing is, we need to get inside."

"Which is why Mulch is here." Artemis continued and the Doctor nodded thoughtfully.

The little hairy dwarf took a little bow before turning around and taking a deep breath in. "Hmmm," He mused before sniffing again. "Lots of dirt and mud. Should be a piece of cake. By the way Artemis, my consultant's fee?"

"Payment on completion." The Irishman answered. "As per usual?"

"Of course Mud Boy." Mulch replied before striding off towards the large glass and metal building which squatted behind the tall tower.

* * *

They walked across the square underneath the Eiffel Tower and to the Paris Exposition. There was a dark burgundy carpet stretched out down the steps in front of the building and it was roped off from journalists and photographers who were snapping pictures of all the invited guests, including those who designed the inventions which graced the exhibition halls, who were going to be given a sneak peak to the exposition. Cybermen lined the insides of the ropes and stared blankly at all in their sight.

"They're everywhere." Amy noted from their hiding spot in the hedges. They crept along the greenery and walked around to the back of the building. They paused opposite the staff entrance, but it too was heavily guarded. It seemed as though Opal, although going the apparent low-tech human way, was taking no chances with her security and had posted Cybermen so that they surrounded her building.

"What do you think Mulch?" Juliet asked as she glanced around for any potential attacks. She had slipped into full body-guard mode as soon as they had left the car and she was now more serious than normal, concentrating at the job in hand. She knew that her brother would leave to spot unwatched and no bodyguard stone unturned; she was going to strive to do the same. Even if it was in her own way.

From her bag she pulled out a pair of sunglasses which Artemis had patented a few years ago. They were integrated with several different types of software, and she pulled up the proximity alert which was in her left lens' top right hand corner. "Three Cybermen. Left, centre and right, ten feet apart. This section is the least guarded. No doors or window, no back door entrances." She informed before pushing the glasses up on her head. They were fashionable too, with Dolce and Gabbana frames.

Mulch lay down on the ground and licked it. Amy pulled a face but didn't say anything. "Soil all the way down. Some machinery, and loads of those Cybermen stomping around on the lower floors. But..." He paused and silence hung in the air as he listened carefully. "There seems to be a section which is quiet. I can burrow down and then into the air conditioning conduits, if they're not part of the security system, or I can just break through the lower basement which sounds like it's quiet too."

"Lower basement. I hacked the blueprints and the modified ones which were submitted to the City Council, the air conditioning units are linked to the security system." Artemis told him.

Mulch nodded as he unbuttoned the bum flap on his dungarees and then turned to the rest of the group. "It's going to be a short trip, I'll tunnel through and you can follow afterwards." Juliet passed his a walkie talkie which he placed in his beard and it wrapped it up in a cocoon of wiry hair.

"Let us know when you're out." She said.

"Or caught." Mulch added with a waggle of his thick eyebrows.

"What, what are you going to use to tunnel?" The Doctor asked inquisitively.

"One of my many and _various_ talents." Mulch said as he dove down into the ground, leaving a hole which shook and shaked as he bore down into the soil.

"That's, impossible!" The Doctor commented as he stared at the tunnel. "That's just, amazing. I've never seen anything like it!" He exclaimed.

"Where does all the mud go?" Amy asked straight forwardly. Partly unsure how to act but not completely sure whether to take cues from the Doctor. After all, he thought bowties were cool.

Juliet turned to her as she pulled out the other walkie talkie from her bag and shook her head. "You don't want to know."

* * *

Mulch dug deep down into the ground, passing through the different layers until he could taste the concrete foundations of the building. He dug in line with them, carefully, just in case Opal had decided to bury a couple of motion sensors, which had been his downfall in conviction number four. His hair fanned out around his head, sensing for any electrical impulses but didn't detect any. His unhinged jaw shovelled in copious amounts of soil and then ejected it, propelling him along the tunnel quickly but silently.

_Like a mouse, one of those ones creeping about the house. No squeaks, just little scampering feet. And those twitchy noses. I'm feeling peckish. I wouldn't mind a mouse, or a rabbit. Actually, I think I could eat a horse. I wonder if the Mud Boy has any food in his car. _Mulch thought as he tunnelled.

He slowed down as he reached the sides of foundations and searched for a weak spot in the concrete. Acid rain coupled with the weight of the building was one of the main factors, then he turned around in the tunnel, so that his rear end faced the foundation and he let all the stored up dirt and gas and other, things out.

There was a juddering sound at the surface end of the tunnel and the group looked at each other before Juliet flipped her glasses back on. "No movement from tall, shiny and silver." She informed.

The walkie talkie in her hand cracked. "All good down here. You can come through; it'll take a couple of minutes crawling." Mulch said.

"Ok." Juliet replied. "See you in a few."

"I don't suppose you've got something to eat?" Mulch's voice crackled through the walkie talkie's speakers as they began to climb down the tunnel. The Doctor went first, he had clipped his sonic to his tweed jacket and it lit up the way with a dim green glow. Amy went after him, not too happy that her tights were going to end up muddy. Artemis followed and Juliet brought up the rear.

"We so better be going Rio after this. I dressed for Rio. Not crawling through muddy tunnels." Amy hissed at the Doctor, who merely increased the pitch of the whirring from the sonic device, yet it didn't do much for the dim green light.

"No food Mulch, not until after we've saved Paris." Juliet told Mulch before she pocketed the walkie talkie and crawled after them.

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_Review please _!^-^!


	21. Stage Two and Zombiefied VIPs

_Hello, update as promised. Now, I'm not feeling this chapter like the next few ones, let me know if it's not funny/clever/interesting/good enough :D  
Thank you for your reviews, you keep my attached to my new laptop and typing! :D _

_To, the other ghost girl: Mmm, Mulch is good like that. Thanks for the review! And I have written more..._

_Revised on 17/2\11 from the comment of Someone Who Wants A Fez. Green sonic light and not blue. I try to add in more Amy because when the Doctor goes off in a genuis rant I feel like she becomes mute! Thank you for pointing it out. :D _

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Stage Two and Zombiefied VIPs 

They crawled through the tunnel, Amy being the most verbose out of the four, hissing her protests about crawling through the mud and wondering why she couldn't have walked in the front door with the psychic paper. Artemis agreed with almost every single word, held back a question about the psychic paper, and he remained silent and concentrated dragging his knees forwards, and pulling his arms along. The Doctor scrawled ahead lighting up the way so that the dark was tinged with the green sonic screwdriver light. Juliet had tuned Amy out and was focussing on making sure that no Cybermen were following them down. But they weren't, the Cybermen up above were still standing guard in their spots and hadn't noticed the deep hole behind the hedge less than ten feet away.

"I can see light." The Doctor called quietly and Amy had quietened down. The Doctor pulled himself out of the hole and then began to brush himself down, shaking his hair out and jumping on the spot before leaning down to lend a hand to Amy. She grasped hold of his hand and climbed out of the hole. Artemis was given a little help from Mulch and Juliet easily hopped out and readjusted her 'special' bag on her shoulder. They found themselves in the dead end of a whitewashed corridor with strip lights shining brightly overhead, reflecting on the buffed floors. Mulch's tunnel practically took up the whole width of the corridor.

"Yet another suit ruined." Artemis muttered and Juliet smothered a chuckle at his disappointed face.

The Doctor was busy pointing the sonic screwdriver at each of his companions and then he pointed it at the closest camera. It hummed softly and the camera's red recording light blinked twice at them. Almost like it was winking while it was sharing his secret. "What'd you do?" Amy asked as she tapped her boots on the floor and the largest clumps of mud dropped off.

"Erased our images from any and all video feeds. We can walk about without being seen by any artificial eyes. Well, except those of the Cybermen. Have to watch out for those." The Doctor explained and Amy nodded her head, impressed.

"How does it work?" Artemis asked.

"Quantum defolding, takes the image and then scrambles it. It makes it nearly impossible for the camera to piece it together so it doesn't process it, deleting any image that it sees of any of us." The Doctor told him.

Artemis nodded his head too. "I need to take a closer look at that device."

The Doctor smirked. "I don't think so." He said with a friendly smile and Artemis sighed.

Mulch had been sitting on the edge of the tunnel with his stumpy feet dangling down. He looked serious for once and coughed loudly for attention when everyone had finished dusting themselves down. "What's wrong little hairy man?" Amy asked him with a big smile.

"There's something...weird here. Something electrical, very big. I can hear some monster humming from it. Playing havoc with my beard hair." He told them. "Toes are all tingly too."

"There is a large room across the building on this floor; tactically it would be very protected. But there were no other clues in the plans." Artemis informed them.

The Doctor fiddled with his sonic screwdriver. "Seems like there is a generator of some sorts." He twisted around on the spot and then pointed it to the right, at a wall. "That way, about a thousand feet." He stated before pocketing the sonic screwdriver.

"A generator?" Amy asked. "Wouldn't they already have electricity?"

"That's a true point." Juliet commented.

The Doctor considered it for a moment as he flicked of a little piece of mud from his bowtie and then replied. "A generator, but not for the building. For the Cybermen." He paused for a second to let it sink in. "Because electrical things from our universe won't work in a parallel universe. The energy is different."

"Like the TARDIS!" Amy butted in.

He nodded at her. "Exactly. So the Cybermen can't run on any energy here, they must have constructed the generator in the Void, ready for when they crossed over and use it to charge up."

"Right, so how is that going to help us?" Juliet asked.

"By taking out the generator, it could give us more time to come up with a plan to stop them." The Doctor offered.

"A distraction." Artemis added nodding. "We need to see how they are going to attack Haven, and what Opal is doing. We can't do that if the Cybermen are fully focused and watching out for anything out of the ordinary." He turned to look at Mulch who was rooting through his beard hair for a bug that he had stored in it earlier. The dwarf had found a little beetle and popped it into his mouth, crunching it. "So we should give them what they want." He continued and smiled his vampire smile at the dwarf who frowned when he recognised it.

Amy followed Artemis' gaze and tilted her head. "So then, little hairy man, what are those other many and various talents you have?" She asked with a grin.

Mulch swallowed and then let out a little belch. "Too many to count on your fingers ginger."

"Anything particularly destructive?" The Doctor wondered.

Mulch showed his tombstone teeth in a particularly toothy grin. "You couldn't even imagine."

"I advise some dwarf spittle before you begin. It may make it more brittle." Artemis told him.

Mulch mock saluted. "You'll always need me Mud Boy, and I think that my consultant's fee has just gone up. I'll just take a breather, clear the tubes, and then be off to do your dirty work."

"Stay underground for as long as you can." The Doctor advised helpfully.

"I'll you some advice Doctor. Loose the bowtie, wherever you're from, it can't be cool." Mulch said and the doctor opened his mouth to protest, but Amy shepherded him down the corridor. Juliet was leading them and Mulch waved at them as they followed the bodyguard who turned the corner and saw that it was clear. She had pulled out her glasses again and the proximity alert software was working like a charm.

* * *

They dodged two groups of Cybermen by ducking into empty room and made their way up three floors to the ground floor. "So, what exactly was Mulch's consultant fee?" Amy asked as they crept down another corridor, after walking up a long flight of stairs, towards the main hall.

"The usual. Buffalo wings, two roast chickens, three turkeys, a bottle or two of Arty's favourite Italian wine and some more buffalo wings. And some cash, but he weighs the food as more important." Juliet added exasperatedly.

Juliet put up her hand to pause them. She poked her head out slowly from the side of the corridor to survey the sight. There were Cybermen posted all along the walls and the last of the VIPs were walking through the hall and into the large room opposite. It was a large conference room and sounds of laughter, champagne glasses chinking against each other and the low babble of people talking emanated from it. She watched as the last VIP walked into the room and then the Cybermen came to life, following him and his guest at a distance into the room. The doors automatically shut after them leaving the hallway empty and in silence.

One Cyberman clamped his hand to his chest and reopened the doors. He clomped out and Juliet pushed everyone firmly back behind her before she slowly took the glasses of her head. She folded them in half, so that the lenses were titled in towards each other, and then she hooked one around the side of the wall and tilted the other so that it faced them. With the microscopic camera fitted in above the lens they could see the hall without the Cyberman seeing them.

They watched it walk into the middle of the hall. It then clamped its fist back onto its chest and spoke in a robotic monotone. "Stage two is ready to be implemented."

A holographic screen flickered up in front of the Cyberman. A side view of Opal Koboi's face could be seen by them in the lens and they watched as she began to speak.

"Good." She typed on the v-board in front of her and they heard a low humming noise sound from the room on their left. "Stage two is done. I'll be down to see my new slaves." She giggled a little before commanding the Cyberman to return to his post. Its fist dropped from its chest and it turned around, with its legs hissing and clanking before walking back into the room.

The Doctor moved out from behind Juliet and slowly towards the little glass porthole on the door. He peeked into the hall. Amy moved up behind him and leaned on his shoulder to see. Inside the room, there were crowds of VIPs.

"All the people are like zombies. They're just standing there in the hall." Amy whispered to Juliet and Artemis as they crept forwards too. "They're not moving, or talking. Just standing there like zombies."

"Doctor, they're wearing ear pieces, the I-Pods." Artemis pointed out before waving a hand at the large poster which proclaimed that a free I-Pod was in every VIPs' goodie bag.

The Doctor nodded thoughtfully, "Ah, now see, that's the problem." He commented, reviewing what they had just seen as they walked back to their hiding spot. "The Cybermen control the I-Pods and they send out a signal, to all the wearers, and that's how it starts." He said darkly.

"We need to stop them sending the signal." Juliet deduced.

"Yes, and that means..." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and it buzzed from a low pitch to a high pitch. "The signal's coming from the hall, right in the middle of all the _zombie _humans, preferably before Opal." He grinned at Amy who grimaced back.

"Oh, alright." She said exasperatedly, holding out her hand for the sonic.

"What?" The Doctor looked at her, "No. Don't be silly Pond, as if I would send you alone, into a room with dangerous Cybermen." He pulled out a Neutrino from his pocket and buzzed it with the sonic screwdriver before tossing the revamped blaster to Juliet. "You can do the job." He nodded confidently.

"Will it work?" Juliet asked him and he nodded again.

"Just point and fire at the transmitter dish, only stand back a bit. No knowing how big the _boom_ will be." He replied and Juliet nodded.

"There's a side entrance further up the corridor." Artemis said helpfully. "It should lead out to the stage at the far end of the hall and give you less of a chance of meeting any Cybermen."

They made their way down the corridor and froze when there was a loud rumbling sound which juddered underneath their feet. They ducked into a fire exit as a troop of Cybermen passed by quickly. Then Juliet pulled out her walkie talkie from her bag.

"Good work Mulch." She said quietly.

Mulch whispered back. "_I'll be collecting my payment soon Artemis. Now, do you want me to hang around?"_

Juliet looked at the two genii and raised an eyebrow. Artemis took the walkie talkie from her hand and answered. "Stay in the area Mulch."

"_Righty-o." _The dwarf replied back. Artemis handed back the walkie talkie to Juliet who placed it back in her bag. She nodded at them and then ran down the corridor quietly to take out the signal. The three waited for her patiently, they heard a fairly loud boom and then more Cybermen walked down the corridor. The Doctor watched from the keyhole in the door and Amy tapped her foot nervously.

"Do you think she's going to be ok?" She asked.

"Juliet is a Butler." Artemis replied and Amy took that to be a yes.

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_Review please!_


	22. The Plan

_To, Someone Who Wants A Fez: Hello! Yes, I've changed the blue to green, and I've tried to make this quiet 11-ish. Thank you for pointing that out. There's a little bit of brilliant mind showing off here, some more later on too. I see what you mean about it being centred around Amy, it'll chop and change a bit more later on too. And yes, 'Geronimo!' Hope you like the rest! :D _

_So, Chapter 22. Thanks to all who have reviewed so far, you keep me writing and point out really important things that slip out of my mind! :D _

_

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The Plan. And The Future Of The Human Race...In Amy Pond's Hands

Juliet sprinted down the corridor and used the proximity alert on the special sunglasses to help her keep out of sight from Cybermen. She retraced her steps back to the main hall and paused just before she walked around the corner so that a small troop of Cybermen didn't see her as they marched across the hallway and up the stairs in the far corner of the hallway.

She waited another minute to calm herself down, crossed the hallway and paused by the side door which led out onto the stage. Then she opened the door slowly and glanced around the side, to see a Cyberman facing away, towards the audience. It was motionless and had one hand clamped to its chest. Juliet ducked out of the door and pulled out her walkie talkie.

"Artemis." She hissed.

His voice crackled back. "_Yes?" _

"There's a Cyberman here, but it's not moving, seems more like it's on standby or something?" She told him.

"_Might be taking a download." _The Doctor's voice replied and Juliet nodded.

"How long do they last?"

"_Not sure, probably not too long." _The Doctor replied. Juliet nodded to herself and then switched the walkie talkie off and replaced it back in her pocket. She pulled out the Neutrino which the Doctor had zapped with his screwdriver and she pushed open the door again. Walking close to the side of the wall, and hidden by the velvet red curtains that provided the backdrop for the stage, she crept across the stage.

When she reached the other side, she pulled the curtain so that she could see the stage. There was a podium at the front, and the apparent host for the evening stood with one hand outstretched, ready to introduce something or maybe greet the guests. Said guests were all frozen too, some were holding their champagne glasses while others were paused mid-laugh, or conversation.

Juliet leaned forwards, searching for the transmitter. She found it quite easily, a large shiny silver dish with the Cybermen logo engraved on the bottom. Not wanting to waste any time she aimed and fired the Level 11 beam at it. It exploded in a shower of orange and blue sparks before collapsing. Juliet watched as the guest unfroze and then pulled out the I-Pods from their ears and examined them. She ran back to the door, remaining unseen because of the curtain and out of the door. The Cyberman whirred and its legs hissed as it stepped up to the podium and then host backed away from it, stumbling down the stairs.

She carried on running out of the corridor and then back across the hallway, when she skidded to a stop after she saw a red fire alarm. She glanced back at the door to the main hall and then raced over to it and smashed her fist into the glass. It broke and set the siren off. Then she hid behind the corridor as the guests began to pour out of the room in panic. Screams and shouts coupled with the sound heavy footsteps and champagne glasses being dropped in fright filled the air as the door were repeatedly pushed open as people ran out from the hall and out of the building.

* * *

A few minutes later they heard the fire alarms ring out, loud and attention grabbing. The blonde bodyguard soon returned with a grin on her face. She informed them that she had destroyed the dish which was in the far end of the room next to the stage and that the Cybermen didn't see her. She also told them that all the VIPs were evacuating the building with the general decorum that people do in a panic.

"Good good." The Doctor said as they continued to make their way down the corridor. They came to the Intel Hall, where it was said on the programme for the evening that there would be dancing later in the night, but it was deserted and they quickly walked in and shut the doors.

"We are here, in the Intel Hall." Artemis said as he pulled out his super phone from his pocket and placed it on the table. He pressed a button on the keypad and it projected into the air. He pointed to where they were currently located. "The Orange Hall is where the VIPs were held and I believe that Opal's office is on the floor above." He pointed to another, smaller room.

"So." Amy said rubbing her hands together. "The plan.

Artemis blinked at her, and the Doctor blinked at him. Juliet stared at them all before flicking her eyes around the room as she conducted the normal checks. _One entrance/exit. No windows._ She nodded to herself and then positioned herself beside the doors, keeping watch while the other three stood in silence.

"The plan. You know, the one which tends to save everyone." Amy prompted.

"I'm...working on it. We're working on it." The Doctor said quickly, pointing at himself and Artemis frowned.

What happened next made all the five hearts in the room falter for a moment in shock. The globule speakers detached themselves from the ceilings and hovered in the centre of the room. Unknown to them this was mirrored across the whole building. The speaker grill slide down from the underbelly and a voice, which none of them wanted to hear, sounded from it. Juliet had pointed her gun at the nearest one, but it didn't move any closer to them and only hovered in the centre of the room.

"Metal men." Opal called, in an irritatingly smug voice. "You have played your role at maximum efficiency." She was feeling generous and so complimented them in the one way they would understand.

"And because my plan has progressed ever so well, I have decided to implement stage three earlier than planned. Besides, it would be boring to wait. With the fairy folk scrambling for the surface, I can use the confusion for stage four. Even those pesky Fowls wouldn't be able to do anything to stop me." The pixie rambled and the gang stared at each other in shock.

"Already?" Juliet said surprise. Artemis frowned in reply before switching off the holographic plan and then placed the phone back in his pocket.

"Metal men, begin stage three immediately and take Haven. Leave no fairy behind, make them abandon the last haven for the fairy folk and push them to the Earth's surface." She commanded before bursting in hysterical laughter. "Oh, and one of you bring me my beloved truffles, I believe that this is going to make excellent viewing. If it were down to me, it would win Oscars and any other shiny award. Perhaps I shall nominate it for an Opal?" She cut off the speakers after another demented cackle. The black sphere rose back up to its spot on the ceiling.

"How are we gonna stop them Doctor?" Amy asked nervously. The Doctor stared back at her with wide eyes.

"We can't. The plan is working. Opal's won. There's nothing we can do. Haven is going to be overrun with Cybermen in minutes. Atlantis has been abandoned by the People. Nothing left. The Cybermen and Opal, they've won." Artemis said morosely as he sat down on the velvet backed chair. The echo of Opal's announcement rang in their ears.

Juliet glanced at the Doctor. "There must be something?" She turned to Artemis. "You always have a plan." Her face fell when Artemis didn't reply.

"Doctor, what's the plan?" Amy asked again, frowning.

"He's the one with the plans." He nodded at Artemis. "The Cybermen and Opal working together. That's tricky." The Doctor blew out a long breath. "I think maybe..." He paused and then strolled over to Artemis.

"You, you're a genius. Think of something!" The Doctor ordered looking at Artemis who stared blankly at him. "Come on." He stood in front of Artemis and put his hands on the taller man's shoulders. The Doctor stared into Artemis' mismatched eyes and spoke.

"I have lived so very long. I've seen so much good and some bad. I remember when stars in the Solis system were shining so bright white. When the first flowers on Parisene bloomed. When the First Great and Bountiful Human Empire reached beyond the Milky Way. I remember the Sontaran-Rutan war, all the bloodshed. Planet Zero to the year one hundred trillion and the end of the universe. When the Daleks invaded my own planet. Gallifrey burned in the sky, just like your home. But there's one thing which we must never do. Do you know what that it Artemis Fowl?"

The Doctor paused to take a breath and Artemis stood up shaking his head. "Actually, there's two. One, we must never lose our love for bananas. They are an excellent source of potassium, brilliant brain food! Fish custard shall regrettably come a close second to the banana."

Amy coughed loudly and the Time Lord returned his focus back to the situation at hand.

"And do you know the second most important thing?" Artemis shook his head again, slightly confused by the conversation. "It's to never give up. Keep fighting for this planet and never stop. It is always defended. There's always something, always something that can save it. You just have to think." The Doctor tapped Artemis' forehead with his finger to emphasis the point. "There's two brilliant species here on earth. Humans and the People-"

"Eight species of People." Artemis corrected quickly, giving a little grin as the Doctor stared back at him in amazement.

"Really? Eight? I love this planet, I really do. Never ceases to surprise!" Then he nodded and continued to speak seriously. "Nine. Nine reasons to keep fighting Artemis Fowl." Artemis nodded, confident in himself again.

He stepped away from the Doctor and turned his back. Amy walked forwards and leaned on the Doctor's shoulder and they held their breath. Artemis turned around to face them again after a minute and forty three seconds.

"The Cybermen. Earlier you said, '_Does what it says on the tin'_, so they are made of metal and circuits as well as organic material?" Artemis asked quickly and the Doctor bopped his head in conformation.

"And when you explained to Onyx that a bio-bomb wouldn't work because the Cybermen would search for new organic material..." Artemis paused and the Doctor smiled slowly.

"You're brilliant. You know that. You are brilliant." He patted Artemis on the shoulder and then spun around on the spot as though he was looking for something.

"What? Why is he brilliant?" Juliet asked.

"Do you have a plan Doctor?" Amy asked with a small smile.

"I think we have a brilliant plan." The Doctor answered with a silly grin on his face. Artemis nodded his head smiling too. "And just look at where we are. The Paris Exposition! The Age of Technology...and what a way to fight the Cybermen! With wires and capacitors and batteries. Geronimo!" He said excitedly.

"I don't understand. Speak English." Amy demanded.

"How do you stop a toy robot from working?" He asked her.

"I dunno? With...a...you know... Oh, just tell me." She replied quickly.

"You take out battery." The Doctor said, looking at her as though she was a seven year old. "And with a giant robot...?" He asked.

"You take out the giant...battery?" She answered with a frown.

"No Pond. You're going to need to take lessons from Jeff, much more techno-literate than you are. He would've known the right answer straight away-" The Doctor mock scolded.

Amy whacked his arm, "Enough about Jeff. What's the plan?"

"An EMP." Artemis replied quickly before the two descended into an argument.

"What?" Amy turned to face him, even more confused than before.

"Really?" Juliet asked with a frown. "But how would that work?"

"An electromagnetic pulse. Also known as an EMP. With a little modification so that it will only knock out Cyber technology. Sorted." The Doctor said and grinned widely before turning around on the spot several times. "Now...to find the right equipment."

"There's a whole room filled with technology on show to the VIPs. In the Orange Hall." Juliet offered. "I ducked into it on the way here. There were no Cybermen or workers or VIPs, completely empty. I think it's where all the inventions were meant to be shown."

"Fantastic!" The Doctor commented. "Right genius, come on, I'm going to need your help. Juliet, you'll need to keep an eye out for the Cybermen."

Juliet mock saluted. "Yes sir."

"Which way to the Orange Hall?" He asked and Artemis told him as they left the room.

* * *

They slinked back down the corridor and made their way to the entrance hall, pausing just out of the sight of a pair of Cybermen who stood right by the main doors facing away from them. They quickly crept behind them and ran down the corridor and into the deserted Orange Hall. It was a large room with new inventions and devices lined up on both walls with a large space in the middle. Some were on plinths while others were too large and had to be put on tables.

The Doctor gestured to all the machines which lined the walls. "Right then Pond, I've got a job for you. You see all these brilliant, marvellous machines. All these machines that will lead to even more brilliant inventions and devices. All that inspiration and dedication and hard work, every single spark of creativity in each of these, things."

"Yes, Doctor?" Amy asked not knowing where his line of thought was going.

"I need to break them." He stated as he pointed to the left side of the wall.

"What?" She looked at him as if he was mad.

"Look Pond, do this." He strode over to something large, metallic and shiny, picked it up and then let go off it. It crashed to the floor with a spark and was cracked open like an egg. Wires and other components spilled out from inside. "See, now copy." He instructed as he wheeled over a large trolley, which had been used for the transportation of the inventions, so that they could use it as a platform for the EMP.

"If you're sure..." She said as she picked up another machine and dropped it from above her head to the hard floor.

"Very sure Amy, the future of the human race depends on how many things you break now. So hurry up." The Doctor told her as he picked up some wires from a now broken gravimetric capacitor and then twisted it in his hands. "Artemis, I'm going to need your help."

"Of course you will." Artemis replied and stepped up to do what he did best. Genius stuff.

* * *

_Review please! :D _


	23. Up JellyLike Sleeves

_Sorry for not updating sooner, you know when I said updates would be irregular...I guess I lied. Oh well, here's this one, thanks for all reviews, alerts and favourites! _

_And I think I can say that the next chapter should be up soonish, I just had to finish off some chapters that were hanging around on my USB, and then I wrote a 10000 worded chapter for Spoilers so I didn't feeling like typing for a while. That's my excuse anyway... _

_This chapter was surprisingly easy to name after writing the last paragraph! _

_And thanks to MistOverMoon for telling me to hurry up. Hope you like it =)_

* * *

Up Jelly-Like Sleeves 

They pieced the EMP together slowly, building it up from pieces of gravi-metric capacitors, new holographic technology, and fresh of the production line bacterium cloning devices. Amy continued to break all the inventions, and Juliet helped by striping wires and coiling them around so that they were ready to use. The sonic screwdriver was used liberally while Artemis calculated the specific voltage and coverage of the EMP.

Then Artemis and the Doctor stepped back, a hastily cobbled together amalgamation of machines stood on a trolley. "It's...almost done. Just need to attach the fission battery and..." The Doctor said as he reached for it. Artemis lifted up the cube and passed it over to him. The Doctor twisted it over and inserted it, before running the sonic screwdriver over the top of the battery, bathing it in a green glow. It hummed softly and then it whirred, sounding like the noisy fan of an overheating computer.

"What!" The Doctor said as he leaned forwards. But then he stumbled back as it sparked twice, crackled and switched off.

"Guess we're going back to the drawing board." Juliet commented with a frown.

"No, no. It just needs some, modifications." Artemis said confidently and approached the machine once more to continue working, aware that time was running out.

* * *

_Haven, Underground._

Trouble was reviewing all of the security details. The chutes were secured and almost all of the fairy population were inside, waiting. Waiting for the LEP to stop these Cybermen. _For a miracle._ He thought as he flipped through the video feeds showing Haven. The Cybermen had entered the city and were marching across, straight towards them. And they had retreated, right to the far end of the city; thousands of people were cramped in the shuttle port ready to leave. And instead of stepping out onto the surface to take their place once again in the sun, they would be running and hoping that the Mud Men wouldn't shoot.

The screen crackled and then Foaly's face filled it up, lines of static fuzzed over before he tapped a few screens. "Trouble?" The centaur called.

"If you haven't noticed centaur, I am busy." Trouble said quickly as he went to switch the screen back to the camera feeds.

"Wait!" Foaly said, throwing his hands up. Trouble's finger hovered over the button and he sighed and sat down.

"What is it Foaly, and if it's not something Frond has sent to save us, I think you should know that you're wasting my time." He said wearily.

Foaly let out a quick chuckle and Trouble wasn't sure whether it was a nervous chuckle or one which slightly sarcastic. "Oh, I think this is certainly worth your time."

"Then please, let's not waste anymore." Trouble said as he split the screen so that he could see both the video feeds and the technician.

"We can't blast the Cybermen." Foaly began and Trouble snorted. He paused for a second before continuing and Trouble reminded himself that the centaur loved his '_I'm so clever' _lectures and that he was touchy. "As I was saying, we can't use any blasters on the Cybermen; somehow they absorb the energy, or ground it. And they keep scrambling my sensors."

"Get to the part where you tell me your brilliant horsey plan." Trouble told Foaly.

Foaly glared at him for a moment, but then smiled nevertheless. "My amorphobots." He said proudly.

"What about those things?" Trouble asked as he watched the Cybermen stomp through Frond Plaza, smashing through the fountain. "Weren't they hijacked by Root's brother?" He said as he turned back to Foaly.

"I've reprogrammed them." Foaly explained. "Now, the security codes are watertight. Literally. You could chuck one of my babies into the Atlantic and it'll swim home."

"Foaly..." Trouble said slowly. Foaly looked a little sheepish, and then was strongly reminded of the old Commander. Beetroot Root. Trouble could handle the situation just as well.

"Sorry Commander. Right, and after I fixed the security codes, I added a couple more extra features. They can be reprogrammed. And they might not be able to stop the Cybermen, but they can certainly buy as some more time." Foaly finished and looked expectedly.

"Time." Trouble repeated. "Right. You start now. I want those, amorphobots out there now. The evacuation starts now. I need you to make sure that there's enough time to get everyone loaded up in shuttles and we will leave as soon as the magma flares die down." He ordered. "We're packing up the essentials so I can't give you any more resources. Good luck Foaly." He said, before giving Foaly a quick tense smile.

"Yes sir." Foaly said as he cut off the feed. Then he swivelled around and tapped a few buttons on his phone.

Holly blinked twice quickly and then looked to the right to accept the call. "Foaly, what did Trouble say?"

"That's Commander Trouble to you." Foaly said and heard Holly sighed with unconcealed annoyance.

"Foaly..." She said. The warning was clear.

"Today, it seems as though everyone knows my name today. I wonder if Max will be the next." He continued, just to wind her up further. "I hope you've got wings. You're going to need to supervise my lovely amorphobots."

"He agreed." Holly said, nodding her head as she stood on top of Police Plaza. She could see a good part of Haven from there as it was one of the highest buildings. Everything they were fighting for. Haven was their haven. And it was down to them once more to protect it.

"Ready to lock and load? Good to go?" Foaly said in an attempt to hide his nervousness. He watched as Holly's green dot which tracked her suit, and was superimposed on a map of Haven, began to move closer to the line that marked the roof of Police Plaza. The Cybermen were lining up on the other side of the map, their red dots were pulsing softly.

"Yep." She said. "Wings." She said and the unsheathed out from the side of her suit. She took off and spread her arms out, flying smoothly. "The bots?"

"Sending them out now. You can track them on your view screen." Foaly said as he helpfully pulled up the map for her. The amorphobots were coded blue and their little blue dots were in lines across the city. Holly flew over one of them and looked down, using the zoom on her scanner to track them.

"Foaly, where are they? I can't see them."

"That's because they're in the pipes. I'm sending them out now." Foaly said. Holly heard the tapping of a keyboard and then blue transparent oval blobs were crossing Haven slowly, flooding out of the water pipes around the city to form a barrier against the Cybermen.

Holly blinked a couple more times and then Trouble was on the other end of the phone line. "We've started here Commander. I'll keep you informed." She told him.

"Good." Trouble replied. Then there was some indistinct muttering. "We've begun the loading. As soon as the magma flares are down, we're flying up."

"What's the plan?" Holly asked as she tucked her arms in and dived down. She swooped low and then flew a few feet above the amorphobots which were chittering excitedly.

"Full evacuation of all occupied subterranean People habitats. Or that's what going to be on the report if we make it out of this. Three chutes, E1 for Europe, A3 for America and O9 in the Himalayas for Asia as the gathering points. Remote places that no humans will come across, for the moment anyway. Got some of Foaly's helpers to set up bivouacs."

Holly rolled her eyes. "Bivouacs. You won't need them. Artemis is going to stop Opal and the Cybermen. Him and his new friends, that man called the Doctor. They were on their way to Paris."

"Frond help us." Trouble said with a little chuckle.

"That too. Mud Boys can only help so far." Holly said sarcastically and then switched the mic on silent while keeping the link open. She tracked the bots and then they slowly lined up. A row of them stretching across the city. A wall of transparent blue and their last hope, they bought time, but no one knew how long this was going to last.

She hovered shielded a few feet behind them. She could see the Cybermen opposite, their blank metal faces and black mesh eyes staring ahead at the barrier. They fired twice, coupled with the robotic calls of "Delete."

Holly watched as the beams of blue light hit the amorphobots and then dispelled through the jelly like body of the bots. She let out the breath she was holding. "Right then Foaly, the bots are a barrier. What else have they got up their sleeves?"

* * *

_Review please :D Makes me want to write more because I love to hear what you think! :D _


	24. Stalemates and Timing Delays

_Hey, so I'm sorry about the delay for this chapter. But it's here now :D Hope you like it! Thanks for all the reviews, favourites and alerts, it's brilliant! _

_Actually...this chapter would have been up before the weekend, but Fanfiction disagreed with me...Type 2 error! _

* * *

Stalemate and Timing Delays

In the wrecked Ops booth Onyx helped Foaly clear up so that he had a place to work, and then, after a direct order by both him and Trouble, she left to join the LEP who were coordinating the underground evacuation.

Foaly watched on the view screen watched as the amorphobots moved across Haven. Holly's voice sounded in his earpiece, _'What else have they got up their jelly like sleeves?''_

"A couple of things," he replied as he stretched his fingers out, and then wiggled them, almost like an athlete limbering up for a marathon. "For my first trick..." he said as he began to type furiously.

Holly hovered over the front line of the bots, monitoring them. She watched as the first row hovered forwards below her. By now the Cybermen had judged that the translucent beings were rogue elements and therefore had to be deleted. One metal man stomped forwards, "Delete," it stated robotically.

Foaly sniggered, finished typing the command and sent it. One of the bots opposite the Cyberman chattered in conformation at the instructions and then bopped forwards quickly. The Cyberman had its arm outstretched and it touched the bot. But the amorphobots moved quicker. It stretched its body and then engulfed the Cyberman inside it so that it was trapped behind the translucent skin.

The Cyberman, which would have been surprised or even shocked at what had happened, merely pushed at the pliable body of the bot, stretching it out as far as its arms could reach. But the bot stretched with it, with high pitched chittering as it felt ticklish.

Holly watched as the amorphobots stretched but didn't pop or even move from its spot in front of the first line. The Cyberman, now realising it was trapped did what normal, conventional, logic dictated in such situations. A muffled delete was picked up by the sensors in her helmet, and then she watched as blue electricity flashed inside the bot. It squirmed on the spot, like it was in discomfort, but once again the Cyberman's efforts were ineffective. Hundreds of volts of electricity ricocheted inside the bot, lighting it up like an electrical blue storm.

Now, Foaly had designed the amorphobots with several things in mind as they were supposed to be part of the space exploration programme. The bots were fireproof, could survive in the vacuum of space for a short amount of time and were frost and freeze proof. Also, after the revamp following the Atlantis incident where the bots were hijacked by Turnblad Root, he had upgraded them further so that the bots could not conduct electricity.

So, with hundreds of volts of Cyber-electricity inside the bot with nowhere to go and no possibility of being grounded safely as the bot hovered off the ground, the electricity went to the only place it could. It forced its way into the Cyberman, in between the joints and coursed through its wires. In the very same instant after the '_delete', _the Cyberman shuddered and jerked. Then it became motionless, circuits fried beyond repair.

The Cybermen stared with their black mesh eyes at the sight and then Foaly instructed the bot to eject the dead Cyberman. He knew that there were too many Cybermen marching their way across the city, and that the bots were only a temporary measure. The Cyberman was spat out and the amorphobots chattered happily to each other.

"Commander." Holly called in her earpiece.

"Good news. Please," said Trouble in a weary voice.

"Stalemate. The amorphobots plan worked. They can't be blasted by the Cybermen." Foaly buzzed himself into the conversation. "Sending you the feed now."

Trouble tapped a few buttons and then watched it. "So, that means we have some time. Thank Frond for that," he sighed. "Right, Holly you can pull back now. The bots are there and holding the front line. How long will they be able to withstand the Cybermen?"

Foaly was silent for a moment before replying. "Factoring in the number of Cybermen making their way there, amongst other things..." he hummed as he thought. "About thirty minutes before their overwhelmed?"

"Your calculations better be correct." Trouble stated.

"I'm always right." Foaly replied indignantly.

"Bank your next budget on it?" Trouble taunted.

"Ok, right, we poke fun later; right now we need to sort this mess out. How close are you to reconnecting communications with the surface. Artemis needs an update and we need to know his plan." Holly said as she executed the perfect loop-the-loop to turn around and then she was flying back to Police Plaza. There was a click as Trouble hung up.

"Almost done, you'll have a few moments." Foaly replied and Holly watched as her helmet screen as he routed the call through her communicator. A low ringing sound buzzed in her ears. Once, twice, three times. And then a surprised "_Hello?" _from a certain Irishman.

* * *

"It just needs some modifications." The Doctor repeated slowly, tugging at the bowtie around his neck while he thought. "Modifications...modifications. It's working; it should be working; only...it needs to be configured to the Cybermen's electrical currents!"

Artemis had already come to conclusion and was standing next to the trolley tapping his foot. "How do you advise to configure it? I am not familiar with the cybernetic technology." He frowned as he looked down at the large, cylindrical device which was emanating faint wisps of smoke from its disagreement to work properly.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I'll do it myself. No offence, but it would be quicker." The Doctor said as he buzzed his sonic screwdriver around the EMP and peered at the readings.

"None taken." Artemis replied and stepped back. There was a faint hum as the globule speakers unattached themselves from the ceiling again. They all paused to look at them as they spun in the air, dreading what lunacy the pixie was about to announce and knowing they didn't want to hear it.

"_Metal men." _Opal said in an irritated tone. _"Stage three is taking longer than I thought, and I want to be Queen by the end of tonight. So, stage four is now on the cards. I want Paris taken tonight. Now. Your High Empress demands it!" _Opal shouted, the speakers crackled in protest.

"She's going to break that microphone." Juliet noted.

"We can only live in hope," said Artemis. Then he was distracted by his phone buzzing. He picked it up and his eyebrows raised up higher on his pale forehead as he read the caller ID. "Hello?"

Holly spoke quickly. "_I haven't got long. The Cybermen have invaded Atlantis and they are marching across Haven. We've got some time, but maybe not long enough for the full evacuation. The People are planning to leave all subterranean habitats. Artemis, please tell me you've got a plan. And that it's going to work."_

"An EMP Holly, targeted to all Cybermen technology. The Doctor is just configuring it now. How much time to you think you'll have?" Artemis asked.

"_Less than thirty minutes." _

"I think Paris has less time than you," Artemis said darkly.

"_So, this is a whole take over the world bid?"_ Holly asked and her voice was laced with sarcasm.

"Yes, unfortunately." Artemis replied and there was a flurry of static. "Holly?"

"_Yes, I'm here, but the signal's breaking up again. We need time Artemis," _she said as her voice was cut off.

Artemis pocketed his phone and looked at Juliet. "Holly says that they need time. More time."

The Doctor shouted suddenly. "No!" They all turned to face him. He was scowling at the EMP and then prodded it with his sonic.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Amy asked quickly. Her hands fluttered around the EMP but she didn't dare to touch it.

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor repeated. He wasn't listening to anyone but kept on mumbling under his breath.

"Doc!" Juliet shouted and he snapped out of it. "What is it? Is there something you need?"

"It's taking longer than I thought. The inventions that make this up, they're not...gelling together properly. I need more time," he said exasperatedly, waving his hands madly, before turning around to continue working.

"Time. Everyone needs more time." Amy said worriedly. "Shame we can't buy it." She nudged Artemis. "Multi millionaire," she attempted some humour.

"Billionaire, actually." Artemis corrected. "Doctor, you need time. You'll get it," he said determinedly.

Juliet scrutinised his face with alarm. "Artemis, what do you mean?"

"Opal would certainly take some time out to gloat to her enemy," he replied with a faint smile.

"You can't go. She'll kill you." Juliet argued. "I'll go."

"You can't buy the time we need. She'll kill you straight away. If I'm there, she'll monologue and gloat and we're wasting time now, me, trying to convince you." A brief scowl flashed across his face. "Juliet, I order you to stay here. You're under my employment, and you are a friend. You know I'm right. Stay here, help the Doctor and Amy."

Amy looked sadly at Artemis. "Good luck," she said quietly.

He nodded. "Doctor, don't take too long."

The Doctor paused to look at Artemis. "You don't have to do this. You know that. You can stay. I'll finish this soon."

"There's a whole planet here, people above and below ground. My brothers, my parents, my friends. I'm doing this for them. Opal is deluded if she thinks she's going to win and become High Queen Empress, or whatever, of Earth."

The Doctor grinned at him confidently and then returned to his work. "See you in a bit."

Juliet let out a little chuckle. "Artemis Fowl, saving the world for no profit or recognition. Who'd thought it?"

He smiled back at her weakly before turning around. He walked out of the double doors which swung back slowly after him. Juliet looked back at the other two. "Was that the right thing to do?" The bodyguard asked with a worried tone, wondering whether she should have gone with him.

* * *

_(Insert DW theme tune here now!) hand on heart I promise now that this story will be finished before the new series which comes out in a month. Only because of continuity and because it fits in to just after Rory is deleted from time :D _


	25. Taking Charge

_Hello! Update is here... hope you like! :D Type 2 errors stopped me from updating!_

_Disclaimer: I'm not a bloke, if I attempted to claim AF or DW as mine, on the words I'd choke._

* * *

Taking Charge

Outside the Exposition building, the city of Paris went about its night time business. People were meeting up and having coffee in cafes. Laughter and chat burbled around the street corners. People sat down to dinner with their families. People strolled down narrow streets with holding hands and their fingers intertwined, smiling and muttering phrases in the '_language of love'_.

This all stopped very abruptly when metal men began to stomp down streets. They marched, their feet pounded the pavements. People stopped to stare and watch, pulled out their phones to take pictures to send to family and friends. They watched in marvel and amazement. People stuck their heads out of windows to see the strange sight. There was silence across the city as the Cybermen walked into the streets. All over, the Eiffel Tower, Moulin Rouge, Champs Elyse, all the quarters of the city rang out in silence. And awed hush over these strange beings.

Then the Cybermen raised their left arms, in sync, and fired at buildings, cars, office blocks, shops. People screamed, glass shattered, they ran and abandoned their bags of shopping. Intertwined fingers turned into hands clasped tightly, tugging each other along to escape the metal man that stomped down the end of the alleyway, turned around and then followed them. "You will be upgraded." The Cybermen said, and everybody ran faster.

* * *

_Inside the Paris Exposition building_

The Doctor glanced up at the door as it swung softly and knew that the only thing he could do now to help Artemis was to work quicker. "Amy. Bring me those wires. Juliet, you can't fault his logic. We just have to be quick now, and make this work."

Juliet stared at him and then blinked, her eyes became clearer and she snapped back into a more professional mode. "Right, do you need help?"

"No, it'll be quicker if I work by myself. I just need to find out what shorted it out and fix it." The Doctor said as his hands fluttered over the cobbled together machine, not sure what wire to pull out or reconnect.

"Sounds simple enough." Amy commented with her eyebrows raised up in hope.

The Doctor let out a chuckle and turned back to look at her. "You'd think so." Then he returned his attention to the EMP and began to run though the connection in his head.

* * *

Artemis strolled down the corridor and attempted to breath normally. He half wondered what Holly would think of his plan. It was logical, but she would probably offer to 'knock some sense into him'. He rounded a corner and then paused. Two Cybermen were slowly clumping along. They paused when they saw him.

"Good evening...gentlemen," he said with a weak smile. Stress tainted his voice but he scolded himself internally.

The Cybermen clomped forwards until they were in touching distance. "You are Artemis Fowl." The Cyberman on his left stated in monotone. Its mouth lit up in a blue backlight as it spoke. Artemis watched it flicker on and off while his heart thumped in his chest, threatening to explode with fear.

"That is correct." Artemis nodded.

"You will follow." The Cyberman stated, and then it began to march down the corridor. The other one waited until Artemis followed the first, and then brought up the rear.

"Yes, take me to your leader." The Irishman muttered under his breath. If the Cybermen had heard, then they didn't say anything in reply.

* * *

"OH!" The Doctor shouted in frustration. Juliet and Amy jumped a little as the outburst was unexpected.

"What?" Amy ventured to speak.

"Why is it not working?" The Doctor asked as he paced around and around the EMP. "It's not working, why is it not working?" Neither Amy nor Juliet offered an explanation, they didn't know how it worked.

"The connections are all connected, I've double checked, triple checked. And the wires are properly fixed. Nothing is working." He was babbling on, the words blurring together. "All the Cyber technology is targeted, the whole range of the device has been extrapolated and cover the whole planet, plus about half the way to the moon. More than enough. Voltage, check. Amps, check. Battery." He bent down and prodded a green box which glowed softly. "Check."

He stood up again and twisted the sonic screwdriver at the EMP, more frustrated than ever. "This thing doesn't pick up anything wrong. It should be working. Shut up! Just don't move, breathe, think. I need to think. But this, should work!" The Doctor shouted irritably and then launched a kick at the side of the machine. His boot connected with a solid thunk.

"Ow!" He cried and hopped on the spot, spinning around haphazardly. "Ow! Kicking, is painful. This is why I don't like violence."

The machine hummed loudly and then the green glow which before had been contained to the battery pack slowly spread across the EMP, lighting it up and then it began to whirr and the machine switched on and charged up. The Doctor stopped hopping around and stared, "Well, that was unexpected," he commented breathlessly.

"Let's go!" Juliet said quickly. Amy nodded and the Doctor quickly raked his eyes over the machine.

"Let's." The Doctor grabbed the rail of the trolley and gave it a shove. The wheels squeaked in protest under the weight of the EMP and Amy was by his side to help and shoved the trolley along too. Juliet pushed the double doors open and then sprinted ahead, charging down the corridors, occasionally glancing down at her watch on which the mini-computer screen showed the blip of Artemis' tracker.

"Not too far off," she called and the trolley rattled loudly down the corridor.

* * *

_Haven. _

Holly hovered nervously above the line of bots. The flood of Cybermen was getting her even more nervous as she flew up a little higher to see the extent of the metal army. Before the line of transparent tinged blue bots, there was an army of silver metal. They were marching forwards and adding to the ranks of the wall of metal standing. Something was going to give. And she knew what. The Cybermen were arranged in neat lines and rows, one behind the other.

Suddenly, the whole first line of Cybermen stomped forwards. The first move. "_Holly, you might want to think about getting out of there. Unless you want to be blasted." _Foaly said in her ear.

A couple of blinks later and Trouble was sent a message. _Retreating from the front line. _

There was a snigger in her ear. "_Retreating, no, isn't just a tactical advance in the opposite direction?" _

Holly resisted the urge to throw a comment back at him but settled for clamping her arms to her sides and rocketing back across the city. Behind her, the bots swallowed up the first line of Cybermen, shocked them and then ejected them onto the ground. Ready and waiting for the next line. And then the one of after that. Pretty soon, Holly knew, they'd be overrun. And that was when Haven would hopefully be deserted.

* * *

The Cyberman in front of him clamped a cold metal hand to its chest and the door opened automatically. _Interesting, _Artemis thought, _it seems to project an electromagnetic field. _He felt a solid, heavy metal hand prod him forwards and he stepped into the room.

"Ah, Artemis." Opal drawled in a mock Irish accent. It was terrible.

"Opal," he nodded his head briskly.

Opal seemed to grin. "So, Arty," she twisted around to face the screen. There were live camera feeds from a variety of places. From the corridors in the building, Haven and Paris. Each showed a different picture. The corridors were full of Cybermen slowly exiting the building. Out of the corner of his eye , he noticed that a door swung open, but no one entered or exited. He suppressed a smile let his eyes wander across the other screens. In Haven, the bots were being overrun by Cybermen, they had breached the front line and were slowly pouring over bots who were engulfing and shocking as fast as they could. But it wasn't quick enough. Then his attention was caught by screens which depicted the city outside. People were running in panic, their mouths open in what he assumed to be screamed. Cybermen chased after them, blasting at buildings and rounding people up. "It looks splendid, doesn't it?" Opal positively beamed at him.

Artemis stood and stared at her passively. He wanted her to monologue, and then thought of the right questions to ask. "How did you escape?"

"Yes," she said in a tone laced with contempt, "That was not a very nice thing to do Mud Boy. All I wanted to do was to fry your brains. And you buried me under tons of rocks." She paused and tapped her finger against her cheek. "Although, it wasn't too much trouble to escape."

"How?" Artemis repeated.

She chuckled, the sound was piercing. "I managed to squirm out. You were right, the suit did protect me. Saved me from being crushed. But look at me now!" Opal exclaimed. "I'm going to crush you and love every second of it."

"And how did you manage to lie low?" Artemis attempted to interrogate. He didn't need to press the matter further, Opal was itching for an opportunity to gloat.

"I managed to shift the rocks with my magic. It was fairly slow but I managed to escape before the LEP turned up. I watched them, one of their smelly dwarf was sent down, he couldn't find me, only the helmet I had left behind. I went underground, though not literally. The Sozzeled Parrot, they had heard of me, and the bar owner was easy to mesmerize, you see, with those magical concoctions from my lovely _extinct _pets, they took their time to wear off. Must have been that quagga's brain fluid." Opal continued dismissively.

"And then what happened?" Artemis asked, faintly curiously. But he could sense that there were Cybermen standing in arm's reach of him. Just one instruction from Opal and he would be dead. _Best not to irritate her too much._

"Oh, now that was the boring part dear Arty." She paused. "You know, I'm going to relish watching you die," then she smiled a little wider and continued her little story. "Like I said, that was the boring part, shunted forwards in time, I managed to reclaim some of my more, obscure assets, and then I sat and waited. I managed to pull off a couple of heists. Used goblins to steal for me."

"You ran the Sozzeled Parrot?" Artemis asked incredulously.

Opal tutted. "You think so low of me. Of course not. I am the most brilliant being to walk this planet. You think I would sit an organise petty crime. It was only a past time. Mainly I plotted. I planned. You want to know what I planned Arty?" She spat at him and her face was slowly turning red.

"I think I can take a wild guess." Artemis muttered.

"I planned your downfall." She shrieked and pointed a manicured finger at him.

Artemis nodded his head. "Should've bet on it." But Opal wasn't even looking at him.

"And then, my gorgeous metal men came to me. They stood so strong and silent. So unlike goblins and Mud Men, whining bunch of stink worm. No, and my metal men stepped out of the light, a teleport, asked how they could help me. How they could be efficient. And I told them of my plan. Then the idea of the I-Pods burned bright in my beautiful mind. What wonders those idiotic Mud Men could do as my sheep. Those pathetic little inventions, they are nothing compared to what I've already done."

"Inventions?" Artemis asked, mimicking the perfect tone for someone being confused.

"Oh Frond!" Opal squealed in delight. "Has the little Mud Worn cracked. Has his little wits deserted him?" She taunted.

"No, I am merely noting the absence of inventions in this building." Artemis stated.

Opal huffed and quickly pulled up the video feeds to the hall. She let out a little gasp. "What?" She spun around to face him. Any trace of a mocking smile had been wiped of her face and she looked positively furious. "What. Did. You. Do. Mud. Worm." She paused for breath after spitting each word out of her mouth with the most venomous tone she was capable of.

Artemis blinked back at her. "It wasn't me. You can check the cameras. Must be ghosts." Opal rewound the tape with a flick of her fingers. True enough, machines were being raised into the air, and then they fell, but there was no one in sight. She growled in frustration and then crossed the floor before standing in front of him. Her eyes glowed a soft red, a faint shadow of the power that she once had. "Tell me what you have done Fowl!" Opal ordered, her voice grated in his ears like broken glass being stamped on.

Artemis could hear rattling behind him, from further down the corridor. He couldn't risk turning around and looking through the small round windows of the door, so instead he smiled down at the mad pixie who had turned an extremely dark shade of red, she could usurp the late Commander Root of his old nickname 'Beetroot'.

"Opal, will you ever learn? A good plan, is one which isn't revealed until the last minute." He allowed himself to smirk, even if the victory would be short lived, he wasn't going to let the opportunity pass him by.

* * *

_Review please! :D _


	26. Plans Unfolded, Fear of the Cracks

_So, this is a long chapter...It's also what you've all been waiting to read (hopefully!)... Enjoy and don't forget to review. I like to hear what you think! _

* * *

Plans Unfolded, The Fear Of Cracks

The Doctor froze in the middle of the corridor and turned around as he saw the Cyberman walk around the corner behind them. "Stop!" He shouted and threw his arms up. The Cyberman marched quicker, their legs hissed and thumped on the polished floor. He began to push the trolley again and the EMP rattled noisily on the trolley as it juddered and jerked.

"Come on Doctor! Run!" Juliet shouted. Amy was shoving the trolley forwards too and Juliet grabbed onto the side of it to help them.

"One day that will work!" The Doctor shouted as he ran. He was stopped by a locked door and she soon was by his side, watching the Cyberman advance towards them. Juliet began to rummage through her bag as he rummaged through his pockets. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the door handle, muttering. She pulled out a power drill and ran towards the Cyberman.

The Cyberman didn't even bat an eyelid at the strange behaviour, it outstretched a metal hand and she neatly dodged it. She flicked the drill on and it whirred around with a buzzing noise. Then she drove it into the centre of the Cyberman's chest, right in the middle of the big 'c' logo. It went through, splitting the metal skin and then twisting up wires and ripping them out as they snagged on the drill piece. She pulled it out and watched as the Cyberman toppled backwards with a loud thud.

She ran back to the Doctor who had just opened the door and he looked at the drill with admiration. "Now that, was unusual," he commented.

"Teflon coated," Juliet said with a shrug.

"Sonic screwdriver and a super power drill," he nodded as they ran down the next corridor pushing the trolley along.

"You can compare power tools later, when there aren't Cybermen chasing after us!" Amy yelled as they rattled down the corridor.

"Just in that room there." The bodyguard informed as she consulted her watch screen. Artemis' red blip blinked cheerily at her. Juliet ran ahead to push open the doors, the Doctor burst through them with the trolley and Juliet had her gun in her hands, pointing it at the Cyberman who was standing in front of them.

* * *

Inside the room there were three Cybermen and a pixie. The pixie was looking extremely disgruntled and the Cybermen's heads turned to face the apparent intruders. One stepped forwards and repeated what they had heard so many times before. "You will be deleted." It outstretched its hand and the Doctor shook his head exasperatedly. Artemis sighed in relief and stepped back as Juliet stepped in front of him with the gun still pointed at the Cyberman.

Opal squealed in anger at them all. "You, foul loathsome little mud worms. I'm going to enjoy watching you writhe in pain from being deleted." She said furiously. "Your little friends, the Major and pony boy have been valiant in holding my metal men at bay. But not for much longer. They will fall, just like you shall. Immediately. Screaming." Opal took in a deep breath and smiled widely. Like a cat who got the cream.

"You have this one chance, Cybermen. You can leave now. We don't want to use the electromagnetic pulse." The Doctor announced, ignoring Opal, much to her distaste.

"Why the extra chance?" Artemis asked quietly.

"Just one more chance." The Doctor told him.

Amy threw her hands up in protest.

"They are going to get one more chance" The Doctor said defiantly and then turned to his recurrent enemies. "Cybermen. Just stop. Just stop and think. Be logical about this. Because if you think that this planet, above and below ground, is not defended. Then you're wrong. The Earth is _always_ defended."

The Cybermen stood motionless and silent as ever.

He turned to the pixie whose large face was slowly turning red. "Opal. Opal, you're a genius, with an intellect to rival this one, and he's brilliant!" He nodded his head at Artemis. "All these years and you never once wondered if they had a hidden agenda. Their _own_ plan. They found_ you_. Just stop, you can stop this. Stop the signal, leave Paris, alone, and leave Haven alone. You don't have to do this." The Doctor pleaded.

Opal glared at him. "On the contrary, Doctor. If I do not, then how shall I become High Empress and Queen of the Earth?" She replied, attempting not to explode in anger.

"Oh, there's no point trying to change your mind." The Doctor sighed in frustration at Opal's blindness. Her plan, in minutes, was about to crumble around her pointed little ears and she couldn't see the glaring cracks.

The Doctor turned back to the Cybermen. "You, why are you doing this? You are defying logic. And you lot, you love your logic. No emotions, no feelings, no gut instinct, you work on logic and numbers and efficiency. Why won't you just stop? You have one last chance. End this, now. Or I will." The Doctor stated.

"The Cyber plan advances because it is logical. We will take this world. We will convert it." The Cyberman stated.

"You will take this world?" Opal asked in surprise, she glared at her metal men and then backed off. "You, traitors, backstabbers. You wouldn't have a world to take over had I not taken pity on you and used you." She screeched at the Cybermen, but they didn't even look at her.

"I will stop you before it even comes to conversion. Look, we're here." The Doctor waved his arms, "Here with a great big EMP targeted to all Cyber technology. Your plan ends here. Release the humans, leave the city. Just let them go!"

"The Cyber plan must proceed. It is necessary."

"No, it's not. You can go back to the Void. The Doctor doesn't need to use the EMP, just, go back." Amy argued.

"The Cyber plan must advance. Or the Cybermen will be lost."

"What?" The Doctor asked, "You'll be in the Void, the Howling. Hell. And you'll stay there for eternity. You won't be lost; you'll just be in, nowhere." He explained. "Now, let the humans go, deactivate the signal." He ordered.

"The Cyber plan shall advance. The Doctor will not stop us. The Cybermen will survive."

"Do you know what an EMP is?" Artemis asked confused at their single mindedness. "Because it will stop you."

"Why?" The Doctor said after a moment's silence. "Why are you so, I'd say full of tenacity but you haven't got that. So...stubborn? It's not logical to continue your plan. Why don't you get that into your thick Cyber skulls! There is no plan. It's over. Accept it. Now, deactivate the signal!"

"There is logic." The Cyberman stated.

"Oh yeah, where?" The Doctor goaded as he checked the wires on the EMP once more.

"The CyberController will explain." The Cyberman stated and then moved out of the doorway. There was hissing and clunking down the corridor and a Cyberman, much bulkier with huge wires surrounding its neck and a black metal skull walked in.

"Ah, see, I told you, CyberController." The Doctor said to Opal who stared at it, her eyes bugged wide with denial and disbelief. Part of her mind was slowly realising that things were not as she thought they were, but the most part, mostly mad too, still believed in her plan, her metal men and grasped on tightly to the fact that she was _supposed _to be High Queen Empress of the World.

"No. Who are you?" Opal demanded.

"I am the CyberController." It stated.

"No. These are my Cybermen." Opal said defiantly. "My Cybermen!" She shrieked and her voice cracked under the strain of her volume.

The CyberController clunked forwards until it stood in front of the other Cyberman. The Doctor stepped in front of the EMP so that he was opposite the CyberController and stared into its cold metal grill eyes. "Why is there logic?" He asked curiously.

"The Cyber plan must advance. We must take this world. Otherwise the Cybermen shall be lost to time."

"You'll be in the Void!" The Doctor repeated. "Sure, there's no TV, but you won't be taking over any worlds." He sighed loudly. "Why is that such a problem?" He muttered.

"You are the Doctor. You are the Oncoming Storm. You are the Destroyer of Worlds. But you are also the Saviour of Oodkind. You have saved planets and species. You aid others. Aid the Cybermen. We must have this planet." The CyberController said robotically.

"You can't." Artemis said. "This planet is already taken. By humans and the People."

The Doctor stood in silence, and then made his decision. "He's right. This planet is taken. There's no room for you here. There will never be. Not with you upgrading. Release the humans from the I-Pod signal, or I switch the EMP on." He said defiantly.

"You cannot stop the Cybermen. We will take this planet by force." The CyberController stated.

"Yes!" Opal said triumphantly. "And I shall become High Queen. This is my planet." The Doctor and Artemis exchanged exasperated looks.

"You are not the CyberController. You have no authority over Cybermen. You are inferior." The ordinary Cyberman stated.

Opal's eyes bugged even wider and her face turned red. "You are my Cybermen! You are my servants, you lousy metal men. You are part of my plan. Mine! Now bow before your queen!" Opal ranted and then paused to suck in breath.

"You have no authority." The Cyberman stated.

"Couldn't have put it better myself." Juliet said as she spoke from behind the mad pixie. Opal hadn't even noticed Juliet moving and the bodyguard quickly shot out a fist and punched Opal. The mad little pixie collapsed, unconscious immediately and Juliet quickly deposited her onto a spare trolley. "I think that there's a certain Major in Haven who's going to be just ecstatic to see you." She muttered under her breath and Artemis allowed himself to smile briefly at Juliet before returning his attention to the situation at hand.

"I'll use it. Don't think I won't." The Doctor said, shifting from one foot to another. Artemis stepped closer to the EMP as the hesitation in the Time Lord's voice worried him.

"Do it Doctor." The CyberController goaded in monotone. "The Oncoming Storm. So blind."

"Why is that?" The Doctor asked as he tilted his head. "What are you saying?"

Artemis' phone bleeped and he pulled it out of his pocket. It was a text from Becket and he quickly read it.

_Paris is being taken over by the Cybermen. Beckett. _

Attached was a link. Artemis selected it and it opened up to a live news feed on the BBC News website. The newsreader sat behind the desk and her eyes twitched from side to side as she read the autocue, and while her voice was the trained calm and informative generic tone, her eyes were wide and betrayed her real reaction to what was happening.

"_News just in, Paris, what some people are comparing it to, is being occupied by metal men. They appear to have exited the Paris Exposition near the Eiffel Tower and are now spreading out across the city. They appear to be dangerous and reports coming in say that they are malfunctioning. Some reports from local hospitals of people being electrocuted by loose wires in a command programme which may have been corrupted..."_ The newsreader's tinny voice emanated from his phone's speakers. Artemis quickly muted it and returned his attention to the situation unfolding.

Artemis took another step closer to the EMP, watching the CyberController closely and he believed that it was leading the Doctor along, trying to convince the Time Lord not to use the EMP. _You're not fooling me_. He thought as his hands moved to the lever and he gripped on tight. No one else had noticed, they were too busy watching the Cybermen.

"Silence will fall Time Lord." The CyberController stated. "It shall spilt through the Void, shattering everything in its path. It will tear the Cybermen to pieces. The Doctor, the Oncoming Storm, the Sainted Physician, you can end the Cybermen here. Or send us back to the Void and it shall claim us." The Doctor stared at the CyberController and his mouth opened slightly in shock.

Artemis twisted his grip on the handle and looked at the Doctor who was frowning in confusion. He glanced at Juliet who nodded quickly and he pushed the lever down. The EMP hummed as it powered up and the Doctor spun around. "No, Artemis, wait!" He called frantically, but the Irishman had already pushed the lever into place.

The EMP whirred and crackled, the console blinked and the bar charged up. "Switch it off!" The Doctor shouted and Artemis shook his head.

"They'll kill us," he said as he stumbled back from the revamped machine which began to bleep.

"There could be another option. They're trying to escape!" The Time Lord protested as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the EMP. "No." He said bluntly, "It's too late. It's reached critical. Out. Out, out, out, out, out!" He shouted waving his hands and herded the humans behind him to the doorway.

The Cybermen stood and watched as Juliet and Amy pushed the trolley where the unconscious Opal lay, her large head lolling from side to side, out of the door quickly. Artemis paused as he reached the door and turned around to see the Doctor standing in front of the CyberController.

"I can't stop it." The Doctor said seriously, looking up at the CyberController. The EMP whirred loudly and sparks of electricity crackled on the outer casing. "I can't help you." He said quietly while turning from the machine to the two Cybermen and then back again. "I can't stop it." He repeated.

"Doctor!" Amy called from the doorway and she pulled Artemis back by his suit jacket. "Quick!"

"You did this Time Lord." The CyberController announced and the Doctor stared at it. "Silence will fall."

"Doctor!" Artemis shouted and the Doctor turned back to look at him. He nodded and then ran to the doorway, only to glance back on final time as the CyberController and the Cyberman were fried by the EMP. Their metallic groans and flashes of blue electricity crackling under the door were left behind quickly by the group who were running quickly down the corridors.

"That EMP is concentrated to Cybermen technology. Because it's going through the CyberController it'll knock out all Cybermen. Stone cold dead. But it's also going to take out a good couple of streets here. And there's going to be structural damage. We need to get out of here." The Doctor said as he quickly caught up to Amy and Artemis was being dragged along by her. In front of them, Juliet continued to drive the trolley forwards with the unconscious pixie laying on it. They ploughed down the corridor towards the fire escape.

* * *

_But don't think it's all over...next chapter should be up soonish :D _


	27. A Helping Hand

_Hello :)_

_To Someone Who Wants a Fez: Yes, I tried to reduce my fanfiction addiction, it didn't work...but on the plus side, my exam results went up when I did continue to write and update! Thank you! And yes, keep River away from the hats. All hats, any hats. Hats and hat planets. :D _

* * *

A Helping Hand

_Paris_

The Cybermen halted in their tracks. The pulse from the EMP filled the night air, unknown to the terrified humans who were fleeing as fast as they could. Then suddenly the Cybermen jerked and flailed, their metal bodies rippling with blue electricity which was shorting their circuits.

Metallic groans filled the air and they sank to the ground with a clatter, blue sparks grounding through the dirt. The shocked Parisians slowly crawled out from under cafe tables, from behind doors and out of alleyways to see the strange metal men stop moving. There was a moment of silence before the shouts and tears began. Strangers hugged each other in relief and cups of tea and coffee were handed out as people laughed hysterically and found somewhere to sit and breathe.

Some of the people were nudging the fallen metal men with their toes. Others crowded round and pulled out their phone, snapping pictures and taken films. A couple, more brave ones, took hammers and smashed open the shiny chests of the Cybermen. But the insides were burned and the smell of charred metal and sight of melted plastic meant that nothing was salvageable.

* * *

_Haven_

In the People's city of Haven, the Cybermen had been swarming, they were pouring through the streets, an army of metal and were ready to delete. Then they were enveloped in blue electricity. Holly paused as she flew and her camera zoomed in on the sight.

"Foaly, are you getting this?"

"Loud and clear sweetheart. Looks like Mud Boy saves the day once again." The centaur's tone was light and she could hear his smile and the tapping of his fingers. "I can see the whole city, it's like they're being short circuited. That EMP worked!"

Holly watched as the Cybermen collapsed on top of each other, like toy robots. They didn't make any attempts to stand up. Child's play. Holly smiled behind her helmet. "Trouble, what should I do now?"

There was a buzz of static, and then the Commander replied. "We wait. Opal can't be underestimated. We wait until the flares die down, Foaly can run his scans on the Cybermen, and we get information from Fowl. Then we stand down the evacuation alert." Trouble ordered.

"Yes sir," she replied.

"Good job guys." Trouble added and Holly could hear his relief. This wasn't over completely, but it was a good start.

* * *

It was a long wait, but four hours later Holly was ringing Artemis on his communicator. The magma flares had died down, Foaly had run his scans on the Cybermen and decleared them dead. Artemis routed the call through his computer and sat down on his chair, leaning back.

"Hello Holly."

"Hello Artemis." There were obvious smiles on their faces. Then Artemis nodded. "Like I always say, no one ever calls to say hello."

Holly hummed in agreement. "That's because with you, there never really is just hello."

"I suppose you would like to know about Opal." Artemis said. He leaned forwards and frowned a little more. Holly stared as she waited for more information. She dreaded the fact that if Opal had escaped, yet again, then they wouldn't be safe until she was caught.

"Tell me."

"Juliet has contained Opal. She can be handed over to the LEP as soon as possible."

"Are you serious?" Holly said, fighting a smile.

"Of course."

"How did you stop her?"

"It was rather simple actually. Once the Cybermen had turned on her, then she had no army, nor any advantages. In fact, Juliet punched her and knocked her out." Artemis informed happily.

"I have to tell Trouble. One moment." Holly replied and the screen went blank as she switched callers.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in." Artemis called.

The Doctor stuck his head around the corner. "Hello!" He walked inside. "Oooh, look more books."

"Is there something you wanted to ask?" Artemis asked.

"Ah, yes." The Doctor's attention returned to the man sitting in front of him. "I was just going to check on my TARDIS. Poor dear. I don't think...no, I think. Oh, I don't know. But, I'll be back in a bit. Tell Pond just to chill out and relax for a little while. If this doesn't work..." The Doctor pulled a face. Artemis raised his eyebrow. "A job. Money. Food shopping." He shuddered. "Are bowties in fashion here? Because that might just sell me on the domestic lifestyle..."

"I'll inform Amy when she wakes up." Artemis replied to the ramblings he understood. The Doctor bopped his head in acknowledgement and turned to leave but Artemis called. "Doctor, is your ship broken? Can you not fix it?"

The Doctor sighed and lent against the door. "No, last time this parallel universe thing happened, there was a way to fix it. My ship runs on energy from my universe. But it's bone dry, nothing in the tanks, engine, storage compartments, attic, and cellar. I've checked everywhere."

"Could there be a way to synthesise your universe's energy?" Artemis asked as he leaned forwards.

"No, your technology is too...human. Quite limited. Maybe in about a hundred years...a hundred and fifty?" The Doctor tilted his head. "Oh, I'll be back in a bit." He gave a little half hearted wave and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

There were two short beeps as Holly returned to the line. "So Artemis, is there going to be a consultant's fee this time around?" Holly joked.

"Perhaps not for me. But I could do with Foaly's help. The Doctor needs to fix his ship so that he and Amy can get back to their own universe."

Holly hummed in agreement. "I don't know whether Trouble will sanction Foaly to leave. We need the city up and running. Number One could do with staying away from Opal too."

"Holly, these people helped to save Haven. They saved us all. And now they need our help, or they won't be able to get back home. We should help them."

"I know. I'll arrange a shuttle." Holly agreed. "Trouble won't be too happy about you stealing his technician."

"Foaly won't mind, he might even be able to bargain for a bigger budget." Artemis joked and Holly laughed down the line.

"Ok, well, Trouble has cleared it, very reluctantly. The shuttle with Retrieval are on their way up, and Foaly is making his way over to the Section Eight's shuttle port, Number 1 is meeting him there. They should be with you in France in a few hours."

"I'm glad to hear it. I suppose Trouble will be contacting me?"

"Yes, he's on the line, waiting for me to hang up and begin the recon operation over Haven. We don't want Cybermen to be waking up."

"I don't think that will happen." Artemis replied confidently. "You're not coming to the surface?"

"No, not this time, although maybe I could drop by. I'm booked in to pay a visit to Molly, the kraken you discovered. I'll swing by afterwards." Holly said.

"See you then."

"Bye Arty."

...

"Mud Boy." Trouble's voice sounded down the line.

"Good morning Commander." Artemis replied, suppressing a sigh.

"Fowl, I want my team back, my technician, and Number 1 in the same condition. And if Koboi escapes..."

"I'm sure it shall run smoothly." Artemis said.

"Make sure it does, or I'll hold you and your new friends responsible. We're lowering the evacuation alert now. I don't want to have to replace it with a Fowl alert of some sort."

"Yes Commander Kelp."

"Right then...and Fowl?" Trouble said slowly. "Good job with saving the world, and Haven, again."

"Not a problem," Artemis replied as he hung up. He reached for his walkie talkie and pressed the button on the side to speak. "Butler..."

There was a little crackle before Butler spoke. "Yes, Artemis."

"I think you shall have to collect the Doctor and his ship. A tow truck may be the easiest option."

"I'll leave now." Butler informed and Artemis replaced his walkie talkie on the desk and stood up from his chair to go and check on his brothers.

* * *

_Oh, it's a little sad coming to the end of this story...maybe two more chapters left... :( _


	28. What About A Nice Sphere?

_Hello...so, I've changed my mind...two chapters to go after this one. And I've rethought my original ending to now include a Doctor-Amy-Holly meeting because it does work out better. And a little timey :D _

_A lot of people seem interested in what happens now...so hopefully I do it justice. It sounded cool in my head! :D _

_I'm still hoping to finish this story before the new series starts, but if I don't it'll be done very soon anyway!_

_So, I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

What About A Nice Sphere?

Number 1 was seated next to Foaly in the shuttle. There were five LEP guards for the little demon, and the rest of the Section Eight shuttle was full to the brim with Foaly's equipment. Some of it was to do with Opal, so that they could wipe her and send her back, some of it was to continue to help coordinate the work ongoing in Haven, and other equipment was going to be used to help Artemis' new friends, though Foaly was going to see _if _he could help.

He didn't actually know what was wrong, Artemis had informed him that he should being an energy converter, and that the Doctor's ship was dead. Though, the centaur was extremely interested to see a time machine. Normally he would have voiced his thoughts aloud, but Number 1 was quite a chatty demon, hardly the strong and silent type. In fact, he was speaking to some of the guards.

"Are we there yet?" The red demon asked excitedly, the whirls on his forehead were scrunched up as he frowned.

"No, not yet." One of the guards replied stoically.

"How long is it going to be Foaly?" Number 1 asked. No one wanted to upset the demon, he was still young and learning how to control his magic, the aquarium incident was still remembered by all in Haven with both a little wariness and a bit of mirth.

Foaly consulted the navigation systems, "About twenty minutes."

"Oh, ok." Number 1 looked a little disheartened. There was a pause in the shuttle for a few moments before the silence was broken. "Who are Artemis' friends?"

"We don't know." Foaly replied.

"Artemis said that the man, the Doctor, and his friend Amy had a time machine. And that it's called a TARDIS. Isn't that a funny word. TAR-DIS. T-A-R-D-I-S. Taaar-disssss." Number 1 rolled the word around his mouth, his voice sounded like grating glass.

"Yes, funny word." Foaly agreed absently as he prodded a few buttons on his mobile.

"I wonder what other words the Doctor knows. The Doctor, that's a funny sort of name, isn't it Foaly?"

"Not any more funny that a demon called Number 1." Foaly pointed out wearily.

"Yes, but Number 1 used to be a nickname. Not one in jest, more like just to point out that I hadn't warped, and the other demons did get names, but I like Number 1..." he trailed off, unsure of what started his sentence. "But the Doctor, I wonder what his real name is."

"Hmmm." Foaly hummed in agreement as he reached for his laptop and began to check over the video feeds on what was happening in Haven. The amorphobots were quickly making their way through the Cybermen piles. The clever little bots swallowed each robot, separated through the materials, and then left behind neat little piles ready to be picked up by recycling officers. Steel, wires, circuits, everything was reusable. Both Haven and Atlantis ran on recycled materials and this was actually quite helpful if they looked on the bright side of the invasion.

Then he flicked through some of the human news reports. He pulled up a couple from the BBC and CNN and scrolled through the report. _They were sticking by the assumed story that the Cybermen, which were robots that were supposed to be unveiled as prototypes at the Paris Exposition, malfunctioned and went on a rampage. Then, supposedly, the servers which sent instructions to the robots overloaded and exploded, both destroying the building and corrupting the robots' circuitry. Neither the company or the Exposition organisers were able to comment._ The centaur chuckled. _Looks like they don't need any helpful information leaks then._

While Foaly read through reports, Number 1 continued to converse with everyone as the shuttle reached its destination. As it landed and parked, the little demon cast a spell so that he looked like Ferdinand again. He liked to be Ferdinand, humans smiled at him and patted his head. Quite nice.

"Nice robes, from the eighteenth century?" Foaly said, suppressing a snicker. Number 1 nodded his head as the door slowly slid open and fresh air filled the shuttle. They all took a deep breath of the sweet smelling air, the taste of pollutants was there, but it was still worth it, even the LEP officers switched off their filters, breathing in as the stale air of the shuttle was chased away.

"Right then. Best get to work." Foaly announced as he stood up and clopped over to the door. He turned his head around to speak to the LEP officers, "Now then grunts, if you break any of my equipment, it's coming out of your pay check." Section Eight did give him a large enough budget, but replacing his equipment took days and wasn't worth the hassle.

The officers saluted in response and began to load up the equipment on hovertrolleys. Number 1 was first out of the door, down the ramp and into the clouded sunshine and Foaly followed him with his laptop tucked under his right arm.

* * *

"Now that's very blue." Number 1 said as he commented on the blue box standing in the middle of the lawn. Foaly, on the other hand, turned in a quick circle surveying the manor. The gates had been blown open, the wall running around the grounds had been smashed and there were Cybermen laying on the ground near the side of the house.

"Looks like they've had some cowboys in." Foaly quipped. Then he snickered as he clopped over the grass of the driveway up to Artemis and waved a hairy arm at the TARDIS. "Another box Mud Boy? Really, after the business with the C Cube and the Ice Box...you'd think a sphere would make nice change."

Artemis had sent Butler with the tow truck to pick up the Doctor and the TARDIS so that they could try and make it work again. The Doctor had attempted to be enthusiastic when Amy had wandered over after a quick nap. But then once his friend had gone with Juliet and Beckett to breakfast, the Doctor's shoulder's had slumped and it had made Artemis even more determined to help. After all, the man had stepped in and helped save the entire Earth, his life too. He owed him. And Artemis Fowl made sure that he paid back all and any debts.

"Nice to see you too. Number 1, you don't need to use that spell, there's no one other than us here, and the Doctor and Amy can be trusted." Artemis smiled and then pointed to the blue box. "And that, is not mine. It belongs to the Doctor and is called a TARDIS."

"What kind of a name is that?" Foaly asked, and he walked over a little closer to inspect it. "You know, it really does look a little like the old police boxes from the 1960's. You know, apart from the colour."

Then the door opened and the Doctor stepped out. "Arty! Thanks for the torch." He passed it over and turned around to face his TARDIS. "TARDIS, as in Time and Relative Dimension in Space. Last of her kind. Isn't she beautiful. Of course, she's be even more beautiful if she was alive." The Doctor said proudly. Then he smiled sadly before walking over to Amy who was sitting on the grass nearby. He plopped down next to her and patted her leg.

"What's going to happen?" Amy asked slowly, looking at the Time Lord who had an unreadable expression.

The Doctor sighed, "I don't know. There's no way she'll work. Last time I landed in a parallel universe, there was some energy left behind. And I managed to reboot a small power cell which had managed to cling onto life and then I used that. But...there's nothing. No spark, not even a light. I very nearly fell into the swimming pool again. My poor TARDIS...she's dead."

He turned to face the human. "I'm so sorry Amy. You came with me, and I promised you the stars, a trips to somewhere fabulous." He sighed, "I guess I'm not so good with promises this time around, five minutes, fourteen years, and now you're stuck on a parallel world and you can't even go home. What would Rory say?" He rubbed his nose and lapsed into silence.

"Oh, Doctor." Amy said as she slung her arm around his shoulder. "Maybe we can go get help from Parallel Amy. Think she'll help?"

The Doctor scoffed. "And what would you say? Hello Amy, how are you today. Oh, I'm fine, I'm just from another universe." He chuckled a little. "No, no, no, no. One Amy for one universe. Otherwise I think the universe might explode."

Amy grinned a little at the thought as she looked over to the group standing in front of them. A little red creature who was actually a demon with magical powers, a centaur who was a techie and the Irishman, ex-criminal, all whom were deep in discussion. She might have been shocked, or even a little surprised, but she really was getting used to life with the Doctor so all she could really think of was a mental shrug and, _I've seen stranger..._

"Don't worry, it's not your fault. Maybe Artemis will think of something?" She said hopefully.

"Yeah, maybe Pond." The Doctor replied and plucked at the grass, pulling strands up. "Just need a little..." He slapped his forehead. "Oh, now why didn't I think of that before!" He stood up quickly and Amy squeaked as she fell to the side. "Magic! Of course!" And he ran off to the three who were deep in discussion and Amy followed right behind him with an "Oi!"


	29. Loose Ends and an Engine Tour

_Hello!_

_To Someone Who Wants A Fez; nope, this is going up the day after the first episode of the new series. Little computer access and it's been sunny so less time typing. But still...wow, Saturdays are now DW days. That episode was brilliant, no spoilers here, but just, mind blowing! And sad. And confusingly brilliant. And I caught a glimpse of the new covers of the Artemis Fowl series, pretty good! _

_To Hibob; Hello, well I'm glad that you liked this and I hope you do come back to finish off the story! :D_

_So, because this wasn't up when I said it was going to be, sorry. Nevertheless, the length and events of this chapter, may be able to make up for the delay! _

* * *

Loose Ends and an Engine Tour

"I think I can try something." Foaly said after a long silence. They all stood a little way off from the blue box and occasionally glanced at it. It was remarkable to the technician, a blue wooden box which housed a time and space machine, he'd give his hind leg for the blueprints.

"What?" Number 1 asked.

"Maybe if we-" Foaly began, but was cut off by the Doctor bounding up.

"Magic!" The man in tweed exclaimed and stared down at Number 1. "You know, you look an awful lot like the natives of the Handbel Asteroid. It broke off from the planet Handbel after a mining explosion. They were red, but I don't remember them having those patterns." The Doctor pointed to the runes on Number 1's arms. "Two suns on a little exoplanet. Lots of black plants, black grass. Actually, the only colourful thing on the planet were the people."

"I'm a demon warlock." Number 1 said, a little confused.

"Yes, yes, magic. Although, more like the manipulation of energy. Humans use maths to split the atom, the Carrionites use words, that's old magic, and you use..."

"Magic." Number 1 said plainly.

"Hmm, that would be the simplest explanation." The Doctor agreed absently as he walked over to his TARDIS and then paced back again as he thought.

"What are Carrionites?" Foaly enquired.

"Oh, you wouldn't want to meet them, witches. Tried to destroy the Earth and bring back the age of blood and fire. Not cool at all." The Doctor replied.

As she leant against the TARDIS, Amy thought it was time to steer the conversation back to the main point. "Okay then. You said you had an idea? On how to get us back?"

"I was thinking we could use the energy replicators." Foaly told them and Artemis smiled.

"I thought those were still in your research department." The Irishman said in mock surprise.

"Guess you didn't hack into my updated documents." The centaur replied smugly.

_That can be remedied easily, _Artemis thought as he hummed in reply. "Although...even if there were energy replicators, would it work? Because you said that the energy here is a little different." Artemis asked the Doctor.

"Oh." Foaly said quietly, disappointment laced his voice. He had hoped to fix a time and space machine. And perhaps get the blueprints in return for being so helpful, taking a little leaf out of Artemis' book on consultant's fees.

"Energy replicators!" The Doctor exclaimed excitedly completely ignoring Artemis, then he paused and his face fell. "That...would be a good idea, but like I said, my poor TARDIS is dead."

"You would need a source of energy from your universe to replicate the energy from." Number 1 pointed out helpfully."

"The TARDIS can run on Artron energy, for a short amount of time." The Doctor said quietly as he mused on the idea.

"That's like...you said it was like background radiation?" Amy pointed out as she turned to him.

"But, it would need to be extrapolated and then multiplied." The Doctor continued.

"We can do that." Number 1 said happily, Foaly nodded his head and waved a hairy arm towards his piles of devices being set up.

"What do you need?" Artemis asked.

"I've got some things..." The Doctor said quickly and then he turned around and ran into the TARDIS. "Come along Pond," he shouted and his voice echoed off the insides of the ship. Artemis leaned forwards and stood in the doorway, staring inside the ship. Although the others couldn't see his face, his eyes grew wide, hazel and blue, taking in the magnificent impossible sight.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Amy said with a knowing grin at Artemis and followed after the Doctor inside the blue box.

* * *

Foaly clopped over to his workstation where the LEP officers had set up his equipment and he began to attach wires to a cylindrical device. There were tables and his beloved gaseous monitors sat on top just waiting to be used. Sometimes, Foaly thought that he was worse than Mulch in the way that he pretended that his equipment called to him.

"If you're going to be extrapolating energy, you're going to need somewhere to put it." The centaur informed Number 1 as he began to run his fingers over the v-board. Number 1 hopped up onto the edge of the desk, his stumpy legs swung underneath him and he watched Foaly set up the containment cylinder to put the Artron energy inside.

* * *

Opal sat next to Juliet on the grass. While one of the pair was handcuffed and glared at the other with a stare that hoped to burn through several steel plates, the other sat happily and watched the fairies bustle about on the front lawn in the sunshine.

"Let me out of these...these handcuffs you little Mud Worm." Opal hissed maliciously.

"No." Juliet replied with a grin, but inside she did wish that she could knock her out. Opal could be quite tiring, hissing and spitting like a cat whose tail had been stamped on.

"Now!" Opal commanded seriously.

"Erm, let me think. No." Juliet stood up as a LEP officer walked up, ignoring the squirming Opal sitting on the ground as she mumbled under her breath. "Your prisoner is here." She pointed out with a smile.

"Corporal Stock." The officer introduced himself.

Shame that Holly couldn't come to pick her up. Now that's something I'd pay to see." Juliet told him truthfully, not only because it would mean that she could see her friend, but that Holly would most likely take some revenge on Opal before she was even on the shuttle. The bodyguard had been told that emotions should be kept in check during her training at Madame Ko's, but she was sure that she could handle an exception.

"You're a Butler aren't you?" Stock said as he lowered his visor down so that he could take in the bodyguard. He looked a little wary.

"Yes I am."

"Whoah." He replied as he looked down at Opal, handcuffed and bound tightly with rope. Juliet had even offered to tape her mouth shut but Artemis had merely shaken his head.

"I know, you must know about my brother, Butler. Bet there's a good handful of tales about the Mud Man who took out the entire Retrieval team with his bare hands. " Juliet told him as she hoisted Opal up, much to the little pixie's distaste as she squirmed around. The LEP officer chuckled as he unclipped LEP handcuffs from his belt and attached them onto Opal's wrists, leaving on the human metal handcuffs too, just in case.

"I've seen him too; he didn't fit into the room. He's like a giant. But, I managed to watch your fight with that gnome in zero gravity. Now that was entertainment. A half nelson straight after you flipped off the wall. Genius!" He complimented her and Juliet smiled, this time it was a real smile.

"Well, when you work for Artemis, you have to learn to be quick thinking."

"Makes good TV too." Then Stock returned his attention to Opal who stood and now glared at him.

"You will pay for this, officer," she spat. Her black eyes glinted maniacally. He was slightly put off, this was the person who had tried to kill so many people, she had even murdered Commander Root. Standing so close to Opal, even with handcuffs on was a little scary. To be honest, he was a little glad that a Butler was standing on the opposite side too.

"Yeah, yeah." He replied seriously, trying to be more professional, and then pushed Opal forwards towards the prison shuttle. Juliet followed, keeping her attention on the mental pixie. Opal had continued to spout threats and villainous promises ever since she had woken up in the boot of the car, hog-tied by Juliet and handcuffed by the Doctor. There hadn't been any room in the car itself, and no one was willing to trade places on the trip back to the French manor. Besides, the boot was air conditioned.

Then Stock paused mid-stride, dropping his visor down to read his messages. Opal hissed again as she stumbled. "You've got a call Miss Koboi."

"Really? Who?" Juliet asked.

"From Miss Koboi, Onyx Koboi." Foaly called from his table, correcting himself so that he made more sense. He turned a screen around and then continued with his work as he arranged his gear. The LEP officer tugged Opal over to the workstation making sure that she was out of reach from the table itself. Then he connected the call with a couple of blinks to the sensor in his helmet.

"Ah...sister!" Opal cried with heavy sarcasm. "You wanted to see your beloved older sister in handcuffs, you little betrayer. You disowned me," she accused.

"And I was right too. The whole family's mad. Especially you. What did you think you were going to do?" Onyx shifted in her seat under the glare of her older sister.

"I was going to be High Queen Empress of the World! I was going to rule Haven and Atlantis. All mine!" Opal screeched.

Onyx rubbed the side of her head, talking to her older sister always gave her headaches. "Look, the Council have passed the motion, you're going to be wiped and sent back to your own time frame. Foaly's getting the mind wipe kit ready now, you...I, don't know what to say to you. Should I have stayed around longer? Was disowning you a bad thing to do?" Onyx asked nervously, wondering if the blame of her sister becoming mad was left on her shoulders.

"I am Queen!" Opal screeched happily.

Onyx stared for a moment and then blinked three times before speaking. "Goodbye sister." Onyx said with a sad sigh. Nothing she was going to say would help her. Opal was both mad and deaf to her words.

The screen went black and then Foaly clopped over, "All done?" He asked the officer who nodded.

"You...you hairy horse!" Opal replied, "I loathe you. I hate you. I am cleverer than you!"

"And yet we beat you. Holly's just going to be thrilled when she sees you." Foaly replied, grinning openly at the deranged pixie who glowered at him. If looks could kill, this would have been the appropriate situation. "Night night." He added, quickly snapping on an eye mask with calm LED lights integrated around the edges. Opal slumped in the Stock's grasp, the sedatives working as soon as they contacted with skin. He lowered her to the ground and took a step back so Foaly could work.

Foaly set about attaching wires to her temples and wrists and then pulled his laptop over. "Fine tuned wipe to get rid of these few years, send her back and then let history take its course."

Juliet watched with interest, the last time she had been in the presence of the LEP's mind wipe equipment, she had her encounters with the fairies deleted. She was curious to see how it worked. "Can't you just like, keep her here? So that she doesn't do everything she did before. She wouldn't start the goblin revolution then."

"Can you imagine what things would be like if that happened?" Foaly asked as he pulled up Opal's brainwaves on the screen. They flashed across in green lines, like a hospital monitor, writing the very madness of her mind for them to see.

Juliet was silent for a minute as she thought of what happened if the goblin revolution never happened. Artemis wouldn't have been contacted by the People. He wouldn't be able to save his father. He wouldn't have become friends with Holly. Things would spiral on from that...so much starting from a single event, a single pixie's plan. "Very different." Juliet replied absently as she stared down at Opal who slumbered on.

Foaly worked quickly, erasing the events of the past eight years from her mind. "But it would be easier. Shame that only Doodah is the only one to take short cuts."

* * *

The Doctor and Amy came back after a short while, arms full of wires and something which suspiciously looked like a spatula. "Here you go." Amy said as she dumped the stuff on the side of the table and stretched her arms.

The Doctor copied her as he dumped his stuff and then turned around to stare at Artemis who was in turn staring at the TARDIS. The Doctor wandered over and then pulled Artemis to the side, before jerking his head towards his ship. "Brilliant eh?"

Artemis was quite speechless, "Yes. Very." He replied swallowing loudly. Then he turned to face the Doctor. "What do you need help with?"

"Making her sound fantastic again. A brilliant noise." The Doctor paused and then scrunched his face up and made an extremely odd noise. "Vvrrooop, vvvvrrrooop."

"Excuse me?" The Irishman asked.

The Doctor waved his hand dismissively, "Never mind, you'll hear her."

"Ready to scan and extrapolate now." Foaly called, "If you stand there, we can start. I'll extrapolate the Artron energy and then Number 1 can make it more compatible for both universes." He pointed to the space in front of him. Amy walked over and stood beside Foaly, glanced over at the unconscious Opal before looking over his shoulder to the monitors.

The Doctor strolled over bouncing with excitement, with faith that their idea was going to work. Magic and science, a match made in heaven. Not his heaven, but definitely somebody's heaven. "I've got years of Artron energy on me." He spread his arms out wide, beaming like a lunatic, "Extrapolate away!"

Foaly sniggered openly at the man's antics as he pressed the button. There was a loud humming sound as the omnisensor scanned the background radiation. A horizontal red laser line blinked on at the top of the Doctor's messy hair and then lowered down to his clunky boots. On the computer screen, the image of purple molecules in sets of three spun around as they were examined. They twisted together and floated around as they were magnified by the inbuilt microscope. "Now that is very interesting." Foaly informed gleefully. "Ok. That's all extrapolated now," he informed and the Doctor let his arms hang down at his sides.

"I thought it would at least tickle." The Doctor commented a little disappointed. Then he walked over to Foaly's side of the computer and pulled out his sonic, ready to analyse the Artron energy and see whether it was enough to run the TARDIS' engines. Amy leaned on his shoulder as she watched Foaly continue to type.

Artemis walked over to stand next to Juliet. He looked down at Opal and then began to think. "Maybe Opal shouldn't travel in the time stream. Foaly, Number 1 had said that we only made it back because of my high intellect and concentration. Opal will be unconscious. She's been in the time stream before, she's been out of her time longer than expected. Besides, how can you send her back if you don't know where she's supposed to go?" He asked quietly behind the centaur.

"We are working on it." Foaly replied slowly. "The Council are holding a meeting. Experts are thinking. This will be sorted. It has to be." He added, trying to be confident. Artemis just frowned in reply, unconvinced and both geniuses knew that this was a snagging point.

The Doctor turned around from the screen and leaned on the desk. "You know, I think I could be the solution for that." He announced brightly. "I normally am." Amy rolled her eyes. "I can take her back, once the TARDIS is fixed of course; just tell me the time and place."

"Problem solved." Artemis replied with a hint of a grin, it seemed too easy this time around. Like things were falling into place. _Perhaps that is the nature of paradoxes. Never ending, never beginning. Something that is predestined and will always happen. The mad Doctor falling out of the universe, just to help them with their problems. Rather poetic._

Foaly nodded his head and walked over to another screen to call the Council. "I think they'll be happy about this. No expenditure on their behalf. Time travel can be pretty expensive."

Number 1 hopped off the side of the table, walked behind them as they spoke and stood before the cylinder container which was on the edge of the workstation. He couldn't see the Artron energy, it was invisible to the naked eye, but as he leaned back on his tail so that he was in his power posture and pushed his magic to the forefront of his mind, he could sense it there. Radiation from Time. Number 1 blinked and when his eyes reopened they glowed red and the runes on his arms spun around.

"Whoah." Amy commented as stopped sorting though the Doctor's things and she watched Number 1 with wide eyes. She held out the spatula for the Doctor to take, even though he stood seven feet away, her attention focused on the little demon.

"Ready now." Number 1 announced conversationally.

The Doctor paused from his dashing around with a large clump of wires, "Thank you Pond." He took the spatula and then faced the little demon who stared at the container. "I'll be ready..." He propped up the clump of wires with the utensil and then turned back, "Now."

"Good." Number 1 replied and then the cylinder glowed in red light of the demon's magic. "Just going to change the energy a little, make it more compatible with this universe. Hold on. Some. Sort of...fluctuation." Number 1 warned, his voice a little dazed as he focused on manipulating the energy. "Putting it into stasis and eliminating the effect of entropy. Fluctuation's still there though Doctor."

"I'll get that!" The Doctor replied as he ran into the TARDIS brandishing his sonic. Amy peered in as he ran around the console, pointing the screwdriver at the time rotor. "Artemis!" He called from inside the TARDIS, "Plug her in!"

Artemis quickly grabbed hold of the large thick wire and slotted it into the side of the ship on the bottom left hand corner. "Done."

"Right then." The Doctor called from inside as he stood before the console, Amy leaned on one side of the doorway, Artemis on the other. They both stared at the Time Lord who had his hand on a lever. The Doctor stared back at them, "Geronimo!" He called as he through the lever down.

There was silence for a moment. Then the Amy thought she could hear a faint hum. It grew louder, until the lights flickered on inside the console room, flooding the place with a bright glow. A jumble of sounds sounded from inside the bowels of the ship, including the cloister bell and a soft chiming noise.

"Haha!" The Doctor cried happily. "Amy, Amy, Amy, Amy Pond. Can you hear that?" He exclaimed. "She's back, my beautiful TARDIS. Hello dear, lovely to hear you again." The Doctor ran his hands over the console, stroking it and Amy laughed.

"Does this mean we can go back, home? Our universe? Rio?"

"Oh Pond, yes Rio, I did promise didn't I?" The Doctor called back, nodding his head as he walked out of the TARDIS as the sounds quieted by the cloister bell occasionally sounded, informing them they were some place that they were not supposed to be.

Number 1 walked up to the TARDIS and placed his hand on the side of the midnight blue panelling. "Last of the TARDIS' and the Last of the Time Lords, not separated now. Very good." He told no one in particular.

"Ah, yes, true. But we should be making tracks now, that modified Artron energy will only power her for about-" The Doctor glanced at his watch, "Ooh, about half an hour. Need to get her back and fill her up in Cardiff."

"Cardiff?" Amy asked confused.

"Pit stop. Then, Rio!" And Amy Pond nodded her head in agreement. They were so definitely going to Rio.

"Corporal Stock, load up the prisoner onto the TARDIS. The Council agreed with the centaur's suggestion to the Doctor taking Opal back." One of the Commanders ordered and the Doctor pointed out a nice patch of glass floor that would accommodate Opal for her ride back to her own time zone. Juliet helped carry the pixie in and then stood just before the doorway, resuming her position as bodyguard.

"Thank you for your help." The Doctor said as he bent down and shook Number 1's scaly hand.

The little demon smiled happily, "The Doctor, it's not just a name is it?" He asked and the Doctor grinned back.

"You're good." He patted Number 1's shoulder. "TARDIS. It's definitely on my favourite words list."

"Quite right too. Goodbye, and thank you again." The Doctor said.

"Bye, and thanks." Amy called and Number 1 waved as he walked off back to the Section Eight shuttle. He needed a little time to prepare himself for the ride back. The journey up hadn't been as frightening as he thought, but he tended to get a little sick, especially since the magma reminded him of the volcano on Limbo.

"Now that is unbelievable." Called a voice from behind the TARDIS. The Doctor stuck his neck out and saw Beckett and Myles traipsing up the grass towards them. Beckett had been the one to speak and Myles just stared at the TARDIS, a little speechless. Butler walked after them and went to stand next to his sister, glad that the Doctor had made good on his promise to bring them all back in one piece.

"But, it's blue? You said it was a space ship, that could travel in time. It's...well, it's wooden." Myles said after the twins reached the group. The cloister bell rang loudly once more, alerting them of the time running out.

The Doctor looked at the two boys with a torn expression, then he spoke quickly. "Right, I promised, and I keep my promises." Amy snorted. "I do." He told her seriously. "Right then a quick tour of the engine. And then we're leaving."

"I'll wait out here." Amy said as she walked over to Juliet.

"I'm coming inside." Artemis said quickly.

"If he's going, so am I." Foaly added.

"This isn't a sightseeing tour, she is the TARDIS." The Doctor said with a hint of irritation, but then he paused and beamed at them. "Oh, who wouldn't want to see. Fine, fine, fine. Quickly though, we don't have much time." He pushed both doors back and then motioned for everyone to walk in.

Artemis was the first to step inside, Beckett and Myles barged each other to be the next ones in. Foaly paused at the door and then grimaced, "I have hooves."

"Ventution glass, you could tap dance across and wouldn't scratch the floor." The Time Lord said as he bounded up the ramp.

"So you are an alien?" Foaly said as he wandered around the console.

"Yep." The Doctor said, popping the 'p'.

"This is just...awesome!" Beckett repeated, commenting on the size of the console.

"It's bigger on the inside." Myles noted.

"I love it when people say that!" The Doctor yelled. "Well, come along gang. Engine room." He waved his arm frantically for them to follow him.

They traipsed down the corridor, in single file and the Doctor occasionally pointed out something. "That's the kitchen." He told them as they passed a glossy white door. They passed an open doorway, the smell of chlorine and dusty books, "And that's the swimming pool, and inside it is the library." The Doctor told them with a faint grin.

"How can that happen?" Foaly asked and the Fowl siblings peered in to see the reflections of the water reflect of the towering shelves and onto the ceiling.

"Now that is impossible." Artemis said.

"I never know what happens when she remodels." The Doctor shrugged and led them on.

They came to the engine room and the Doctor stood with his back to the door, "Right then, what you're about to see now, the engine room to the only TARDIS in existence, is something which is beyond impossible and incredibly gorgeous."

He twisted the doorknob behind his back and then pushed the door open. Beckett was the first to step in, and he saw flashing lights and the sleek design. Tubes and pipes crossed the room at different levels and in the centre was a container which glowed, alternating the colours of the spectrum. Myles walked in after him, and he saw the cogs clicking around in the corners of the room, and smiled at the style of the room. Everything fit perfectly. The design was something not even an artist could create.

Foaly's mouth dropped as he followed, his hooves sounded against the floor. There were so many gadgets splayed across the room. From twiddly bits, to twirly bits. "What's that?" He pointed to a large globe which had crevices etched into the centre and hung from a piece of rope on the left hand side of the wall.

"That?" The Doctor crossed over and poked it, "That's a bumpy wumpy thing."

"Oh."

Artemis stared in silence at the room, taking in the machinations and the devices. The flashing lights, the clicking cogs, the symmetry of the engine. It was astounding and he knew what he was looking at was something that he would never see again so he committed it all to memory. "One of a kind Doctor."

The Doctor paused as he walked back and then moved to the other side of the door, removing a red fez from the hanger on the back of it. "Look what I've found dear." He told his TARDIS. "I did wonder where it went."

"What, is that?" Artemis asked, even though he knew it was a hat.

The Doctor jammed it on his head and flicked the tassel. "It's a fez. I thought I lost it, but I haven't. Suits me, doesn't it?" He tilted his head from side to side and smiled broadly. They all nodded politely, thinking something else entirely.

The cloister bell sounded, louder than before and they clutched their ears as it rang loudest in the engine room. "Yes. I know!" The Doctor shouted over the din. "You'd better leave now." He said as the herded them out of the room and back towards the door. "Pond, come on, we're leaving!" He shouted and Amy looked away from Juliet and to him.

"Yeah, just a moment!" She called back.

"Leaving now? Well, good luck and goodbye. I think you're going to need it, what is that on his head?"

"Haven't a clue." Amy shrugged her shoulders. "Bye then. And good luck too." She gave Juliet a quick hug and then ran back to the TARDIS. "Bye Artemis Fowl." She slung her arm around his shoulder and Artemis patted her back.

"Nice to meet you. And you Doctor."

"Yes, it's been fun, hasn't it? Saving the world, you humans, such magnets to trouble and aliens."

"You included?" Foaly asked and the Doctor conceded with a nod. "By the way, Mulch contacted me, he said he quite enjoyed destroying that device."

Amy laughed. "Glad to hear he made it out ok."

"Good bye." The Doctor said to everyone, "Remember what I said about defending the Earth." He pointed to Artemis. "School is cool, physics is coolest." He told the twins. "How about a teleport?" He asked Foaly. "Ask Number 1 if he's ever heard of ."

"Thank you Doctor." Butler added and he nodded in return.

The cloister bell sounded once more. "Oh, alright, and we're off. Bye!" The Doctor said as he rushed up the ramp and to the console, running around to pull some levers and pushing buttons. "Pond, close the door please."

"Bye guys." Amy said with a last wave and she pulled the doors shut after her.

"Zig-zag plotter please." The Doctor called as he began to type on the typewriter, occasionally reaching over to press something or pull another lever.

"Yes sir!" Amy mock saluted and grabbed the joystick to move it to the far end.

"Right then. Back home." He slammed his hand on a large red button and pulled on a piece of string, the TARDIS lurched in reply and they clung onto the rails. The Doctor pressed another person and suddenly the force of gravity increased. "Stop her rolling around." He waved a hand to Opal who lay on the floor before twirling around because he had to hold onto something.

"Just one quick stop eh?" Amy said, glancing over at the unconscious pixie.

"Hmmm, underground too. Under the surface of the Earth's crust, the magma too. You'll like this Pond." He said as the TARDIS began to dematerialise, "Although, we'll have to be discreet about. So, buffers on. Perception filter to...max-i-mum." He pushed a button and pulled monitor down and plugged a thick wire in. "Here we are!" The TARDIS whirred as it began to dematerialise. "There's that beautiful sound dear, glad to have you back."

* * *

_Wow, longest chapter for this story. Hope you liked, hope I got everything too. If I have missed something, please let me know. _

_The last chapter of this story to follow shortly. A meeting and the ending...which I am looking forward to writing. _


	30. A Paradox Closed

_It's the last chapter! A little reluctant to write this up, but...had to be done! Also, sorry for the delay. _

_So, 30 chapters, lots of reviews (cheers guy!) and a very long time since it started, (October to May!) hope you've enjoyed it and that you like this chapter too :D_

_To TARDIS hijacker: Hello, glad it was! Thanks! _

_To Someone Who Wants a Fez: Bumpy wumpy, I know, I agree! I know that 11 got his fez in the Big Bang, but indulge with me, he got his fez a little earlier, I couldn't resist! So, he found a fez in the depths of the TARDIS, decided he liked it...and then it...well...read on. Clear reasons why she does not remember the Doctor detailed further below. I loved that 'I'm being extremely clever up here and there's no one to stand around looking impressed!' he's so childish :D_

_I love new series! Geronimo completely :D So many questions and new half answers in it, brilliant. But now, the last chapter for this story and hopefully all remaining questions will be answered. _

_(Oh, and I was reading through Wiki for some correct spellings and I found the actual promotion titles, Holly's actually a Major, a Lieutenant is actually further down the ranks, so I'll be going back to fix that.)_

_And guys, if there's anything I've missed, anything at all, big, little or medium sized, please let me know. Thanks. _

* * *

A Paradox Closed

The TARDIS faded into sight in an alleyway in the centre of the People's city of Haven, twelve years prior to the time they had just left. Cartons of vole curry and flyer for the new Pizza's Pizzeria littered the floor. The Doctor pushed open the door with one hand and poked his head out. It was the alleyway on the side of a certain Captain Short's apartment block.

"All clear." He yelled, and then bent down to pick up Opal's legs, Amy having already tucked her hands underneath the slumbering pixie's shoulders. They waddled out slowly, careful not to hurt Opal, _even though a knock on the head could be quite beneficial,_ Amy mused absently as the Doctor placed Opal's feet back on the ground so that he could snap his fingers to shut the TARDIS doors.

"And is no one going to see to two humans, carrying a pixie deadweight?" Amy asked as she hefted Opal up a little higher as the Doctor took her feet again. The pixie's large head lolled on Amy's shoulder and the Scottish woman frowned with distaste.

"Nope, the TARDIS has a perception filter. Should be perfectly fine. We'll just buzz ourselves in, have a chat, and maybe even a cup of tea and a biscuit. Jammy Dodgers if we're lucky." The Doctor rambled.

Amy's mouth dropped open, "Err, Doctor?" She nodded her head forwards.

"What?" He frowned with confusion.

"Hold it right there Mud Men." Captain Holly Short said in a clear commanding tone, her buzz baton was drawn and pointed at the man's back. Said man turned his head around and swallowed. Holly scrutinised the two, the ginger woman was wearing normal human clothes, a very short skirt and was tall. The man, was a little stranger, he wore a jacket which had gone out of fashion decades ago, sported a bow tie and wore some kind of red hat on his head.

"Right, hello there, I'm the Doctor." He introduced himself with a nervous nod, "This is Amy." He nodded towards the ginger Mud Girl who was standing behind him. "And this is...someone who we're returning to you." He nodded to the person who they were carrying. Holly glanced down, she couldn't make out who it was, but she could see the pointed ears. A pixie. She levelled her baton at both of them once more.

"Captain Holly Short of the Lower Elements Police." Holly stated. "Put her down." She instructed. The Doctor nodded to Amy and they slowly lowered the pixie to the ground. "Right." Holly said and then she raised a hand to her visor to contact Police Plaza. Only the Doctor was quicker. In an instant he had whipped out his sonic screwdriver and disabled her communications.

"Sorry. But time's running out for us." The Doctor told her.

"Who are you?" Holly asked, stepping forwards so that she stood in front of the unconscious pixie. Now that she was closer, Holly could see the resemblance of her to Opal Koboi. The owner of Koboi Industries who had invented the Hummingbird wings she so desperately wanted for her next topside assignment. Holly looked back up at the two and didn't lower her buzz baton. And the Doctor didn't lower his sonic either.

"Friends." Amy told her with a small smile.

"You're speaking Gnomish." Holly realised. There was silence for a few moments. "You're not Mud Men are you?" She said, looking at the sonic screwdriver.

"Nope." Amy said, her smile was a little wider. The Doctor watched as Holly looked down at Opal.

"What are you really doing here?" She asked suspiciously. "Abducting People?"

"I think if anyone abducted Opal, they'd send her back immediately." The Doctor said with a serious tone. "No, I need you to take her to Section Eight. Code Mauve," he paused to grin, "The password is Beatles." He paused; the grin grew a little wider, "As in the band, not the insect."

"What?"

"No, Beatles. Take her now. You'll find out exactly what it means once you're at Section Eight. Do not tell anyone else what you're doing. Do not let anyone see you, or her either. Beatle overrides all commands, all authority, not even the Section Head will stop you." The Doctor told her seriously, he took a step back.

"Stay where you are. You're not leaving until you explain yourself." Holly demanded.

"Can't do that, sorry." Amy said, taking two steps back.

"What do you mean?" Holly asked, staring at the ginger woman, hair as red as herself.

"Time paradoxes, they have a tendency to come back to haunt you." The Doctor said slowly. "Can't change anything, you obviously didn't know much in the future judging by Art- his, explanation, so therefore we can't spill our secrets."

Holly frowned, then decided to use another tactic, she twisted her head, felt the click as the magic bubbled up inside, "Human," she began, her voice layered with the mesmer, "Your will is-"

The Doctor interrupted quickly, waving his sonic absently, "Ah, see, I'm not human, so that's not going to work on me." He pointed the sonic screwdriver at her buzz baton. The sonic hummed and flashed green. "And I'm not too keen on having weapons pointed at me."

Holly shook it, pressed the on button several times before realising that it was effectively broken. She didn't place it back in her belt though, it might not be able to shock the two, but it was still made of metal and would be able to help her defend herself. "Stay back." Holly ordered.

"Captain Holly Short," The Doctor read off. "Look, you need to do this, or the whole future unravels."

Holly stared at them with doubt in her eyes. "What's this got to do with the People?"

"It's already done, can't tell you." The Doctor replied.

"Then, I'm involved in events in the future?" The Captain asked suspiciously.

"No comment." Amy quipped with a grin.

"Yes." The Doctor answered and Amy nudged him again. "Now's probably not the time for jokes." He pointed the sonic screwdriver at Holly and it buzzed quietly.

"Sorry." Amy said sheepishly.

"Right, Holly, you need to take Opal to Section Eight now. I've sent a map to your helmet, omnisensors, genius! As I said, don't let anyone see you. You can do that shield vibration thing and go out of visible sight. Very cool by the way." The Doctor complimented. "Password is Beatles and don't let anyone stop you."

Holly stared at him, looking into his eyes to see if he was telling the truth, they were green and bright and clear. She sighed heavily, "Frond knows why, but for some reason I trust you." She said as she stepped forwards.

"We're telling the truth." Amy said earnestly.

"Maybe it's the fez." The Doctor mused.

_I think something needs to be done about that,_ Amy thought, eyeing the hat. "Speaking of time paradoxes, we'd better scarper."

"Will I see you again, in the future, so that you can explain this all?" Holly asked as she pulled out the piton from her belt and began to tie up Opal so that she could clip her to her moonbelt.

"No, we won't see each other again. However, I think things will be explained to you." The Doctor told her. "Goodbye Captain Short."

"Yes, goodbye." Holly watched as they walked back towards the blue box and stood in the doorway watching her as she clipped Opal on and hefted her over her shoulder. Then Holly turned around, walking back to the main street, fading out of sight.

"What's Code Mauve?" Amy asked, leaning against the doorway.

"Oh, Section Eight is like Earth's UNIT, or Torchwood, only a little more scientific. Foaly explained that there were contingencies put into place, and Code Mauve was one of his ideas he thought up while on holiday. It's relocation basically. There are specific instructions to replace Opal back into her life with minimal disruption. Time will continue on. Holly will get those instructions and then take a mind wipe after that. A blanket one for the past day. She'll wake up in her own flat with the symptoms of flu and even have an excuse to not go to work."

"Clever." Amy commented.

"I know. Foaly really is something, you know, he's got memory plants! How cool is that?" The Doctor said, turning to his left and stepping through the doors and inside the TARDIS.

"Extremely." Amy said as she knocked the fez off his head. Then she quickly slammed the doors shut and ran up the ramp, pulling the lever on the console so that the TARDIS dematerialised.

"Oi! Pond!" The Doctor shouted, his face the picture of annoyance. "Why'd you go and do that?"

"It had to go." She replied. "Can we go Rio now? Please!"

The Doctor walked up the TARDIS pouting. "I'll think about it." He said, "You abandoned my fez on a parallel world." Amy sighed and then screamed when the TARDIS jerked as he began to make arrangements to cross over back to their own universe. The TARDIS lurched and spun violently, lights popped and fizzed and they clung on to whatever they could.

"Fingers crossed eh?" She shouted over the cloister bell which sounded sporadically.

"And toes!" The Doctor shouted before they landed with a thump. They staggered to their feet and Amy pulled around the screen.

"Are we back?" She asked nervously.

"Clom!" The Doctor shouted triumphantly.

"Clom?"

"We're back Pond!" He explained ecstatically.

"Rio?"

"Later. But for now, all we have to do is...get off this planet as quick as we can." He told her seriously as he raced around the console and began flipping switches.

"Why? Is it dangerous?"

"Yes, dangerously boring!"

"Wait Doctor, I...wanted to ask you a question. You said that the parallel universes were the same but just a little different. How different? What makes them different?" Amy looked at him studiously, paying him full attention, and he looked down at the console, guessing her track of thought.

"The choices you make," he replied plainly and Amy frowned at him. "But sometimes, the differences are too fundamental, parallel universe after all." He shrugged a little, and then continued to talk, knowing he'd regret asking. "Why are you thinking about it?"

"Just, that Parallel Amy, she had her whole life, and from what I saw, it was the same as mine, well apart from him. No mum and dad, just Aunt Sharon-"

"Parallel Aunt Sharon." The Doctor interjected.

"Yes, and she still lives in Leadworth as a kissogram. With him. Engaged. Amy Williams, sounds...very different." She mused on the idea of her parallel life.

"Engaged to him..." The Doctor pointed at his nose, sniggering. "Might as well keep Pond."

"Oi, stop it!" She said half heartedly as he walked over and leant against the console.

"Amy, that's not you, that's a different Amy living in a different universe," he told her seriously. "Do you understand that Pond?"

"I do, I just wonder. Hope they're having as much fun as I am with you."

"Doubt that." The Doctor mumbled under his breath. "Still," he said smiling widely at her as she nodded to herself and pulled the monitor over, "She's probably having fun with Rory, Rory, Rory, Rory, missing that bumbling man, remembering is half the problem." He said absently, turning to walk to the other side of the console.

"Hmm? What was that?" Amy asked.

"Don't know. Never mind Pond." The Doctor pulled another lever and then spun the spatula. "Ready?"

"Always." Amy replied and she wrapped her fingers around the railings.

The only evidence that a TARDIS had ever visited the Parallel universe was in the memories of a handful of people, the fact that the Earth was not overrun with a new CyberEmpire, and a lost little red fez which lay on the ground in an alleyway near Frond Plaza buried over a short amount of time by the overflowing dustbins filled with empty vole curry cartons.

* * *

Holly flew over the Irish countryside, her arms outstretched as the sensors in her suit picked up her directions. As she approached the dim glow of the French Manor's lights she tucked her arms in and dropped so that her feet touched lightly on the gravel driveway. Then she walked up the driveway still shielded, in case the Fowls had any guests.

The front door swung open and Butler stood in the doorway, wearing his black suit. She could see that the dye was wearing off and his hair was speckled with grey hairs, she made a mental note to get Foaly to send some more if the bodyguard wanted it. "Hello." Holly said, her voice was disembodied because she was still invisible to human eyes.

"Good evening Holly. You can come inside. Mr and Mrs Fowl are both still in America so you can unshield." He stepped back and Holly walked past him and became visible. "Artemis is in his study."

"Long time no see." She said as Butler bent down so that she could hug him. "I'm glad you Mud Men are still around after all those events from last week.

Butler nodded as he stood up again. "I know. Normally Artemis' escapades are less..."

"I believe the correct term is wibbley wobbly time wimey." Artemis called as he walked down the stairs. "Holly, how are you?"

"I'm well." Holly smiled to see her old friend and pulled him into an awkward hug.

"I wondered why you were taking so long." Artemis said, smiling back at her.

"Stonehenge was packed. Even a buzz baton can't take on crowds for the lunar solstice." Holly replied.

Artemis frowned, just imagining the thought. "Well Holly, I suppose you'll be wanted some explanation."

"I read the report. And I spoke to you, what else is there to explain?" The auburn haired Major asked confused.

"There's a short video for you to see, and then I'll answer any questions you may have." Artemis replied, waving her to go with him to his study. Holly nodded her head, still unsure about what he was talking about, but followed him anyway.

"It must be something big if I have to watch a video. Is it on a DVD player?" She sniggered.

"No, some other kind of format that I have yet to completely decode. Almost like a cross between a live video stream and a DVD. Foaly was impressed by the Doctor's words, let alone any technology. I thought he was going to have some sort of breakdown when we were in the TARDIS."

"Makes no sense to me. And what was that timey wobbly comment?" Holly continued to frown with confusion while Artemis stared in front and smiled a little.

Then the smile faded a little and he asked the inevitable question, "How is everyone? In Haven?"

Holly was quiet for a moment, "Everyone is...getting over it. Haven's never been invaded." She let out a chuckle, "We always thought the humans would come down from above. Not _Cybermen_ from the prisons. Opal had tunnels, she used the ecosystems as a holding ground for the Cybermen, and then funnelled them out from the prisons, it's just, it's shocked everyone a little, and people aren't so comfortable knowing that all this happened without the LEP or Section Eight knowing a whisper."

Artemis was much taller now, the spitting image of his father, and she had to crane her neck backwards to look at him properly. He looked tired.

"And of course, when news got out that it was Opal Koboi, it was difficult to withhold details about our little time jaunt to the past. Section Eight did help, but you can't stop rumours. By the way, JayJay now has his mate and a Jayjay junior. Number 1 said that he'd send pictures after the clean up." Holly continued.

"The People are more capable at handling these kinds of incidents." He said, "But, at least you know that there are no more paradoxes to fulfil." He said with a small smile and Holly humoured him by smiling along too.

"Mulch says that he's waiting on his consultant's fee."

"I'm not surprised." Artemis grimaced, wondering how many lorries of food the dwarf would request for his help in saving not just Haven, but also Atlantis and the Mud Men.

They walked into the study and Artemis pulled over a swivel chair so that they could both sit behind the desk. "Now, I think you should watch it first." He told her as she sat down on his chair and propped her head up by her arm on the wooden desk.

Artemis pulled up the recording that was sent to him by the Doctor and pressed play before sitting down on the chair he pulled over.

On the screen, the Doctor stood in front of the camera; he was fussing with his bow tie and flattened his head backwards before it flopped forwards naturally. "Oh, is it on now?"

"Yes." Called another voice, female and Scottish, Holly noted, from off screen.

"Well thanks for the warning. You know, normally there's a countdown, or someone going, take one, action!"

"Doctor. Time." The Scottish woman said in a low tone. One of warning.

Holly stiffened, _Doctor?_ _I think..._ "Artemis, I think I've seen him before."

"Yes, sorry, haven't got much time to explain before the gap between universes closes, but enough to explain to you Major...promotion in what, three minutes for us, twelve years for you? Very nice. Yes, to explain to you what happened twelve years ago and what you did." He beamed and Holly turned around to face Artemis.

"What is going on?" She asked, baffled.

Artemis smiled a little, "He's the Doctor...And I see the mind wipe was effective."

"Mind wipe? I've never been mind wiped." She replied offhandedly and leaned forwards and turned up the speakers.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor." The man on the screen gave a little wave. "And Amy, my glamorous assistant-"

The woman walked over so that she was on view and slapped the Doctor on the shoulder, "If I'm an assistant, then he's a magician, complete with a stupid hat." She said sarcastically.

'_A red hat?'_ Holly wondered.

"Right, moving on," The Doctor said, rolling his eyes, "You met us, twelve years ago, and I wore a very fashionable red fez. Holly, you were a Captain then, you exited your apartment ready to go to work and then you saw us in the alleyway."

Holly's frown deepened as she struggled to remember. "A blue box?" She mumbled under her breath.

"I told you to take Opal and go to Section Eight..." The Doctor continued, looking directly at the centre of the camera, and Holly.

"I...don't..." Holly started, and then she caught flash of some memories, just about to break through. She remembered the man wearing a tweed jacket and the way his head turned around as she stood before them, buzz baton raised.

"Can you remember Holly?" Artemis asked.

"I remember going to Section Eight, but I didn't even know that it existed then. I joined after leaving the LEP. The same car park..."

"Good," Artemis said encouragingly, he knew how difficult it was extracting wiped memories. "What else?"

Holly closed her eyes and concentrated. "Beatles was the password; I ended up on the fourth floor. In a white room with a computer screen. I sat down and read the instructions. I was supposed to leave Opal in her office and then...take a mind wipe? Had the day off because I thought I had the flu. Yes, so that I didn't remember and change the paradox...So, Opal is back, the paradox is closed?" She turned to Artemis, and the question was more of a statement.

"That is correct. No Opal's running loose with threats to conquer the planet." He smiled. "Well, at least not for us, as the paradox is closed, the younger versions of ourselves are only just starting to save the world."

Holly shrugged; still smiling now that she knew it was over, "Something to look forward to."

The Doctor was still rambling onscreen, "Hopefully you've got your memories back. Although if you haven't you can always rewind and repeat this message until you do." He frowned a little. "The events are now fixed so you don't have to worry about them. The gaps are closing. Like I said before the walls of the two universes are sealing up again."

Amy smiled at the screen, "Goodbye!"

"Yes, have a nice life, in fact, have a very brilliant life!" The Doctor said smiling. The video message ended and the screen turned black.

"Must have been some adventure Arty." Holly said leaning back in the chair.

"It was." He agreed nodding his head, thinking back to the Exposition, the Cybermen marching, his home exploding, burning. It seemed like an age ago.

"Do you we've saved the world enough times for it to stay saved?" Holly wondered.

"Highly unlikely. You know, I've been working on a new project, using the old Space Probe project's blueprints to scan the far edges of the galaxy. There is evidence of radio signals on a different frequency to both People transmissions and human transmissions. They're not being reflected either."

"You mean to say...aliens?"

"Something is definitely out there."

"You know, there used to be a pretty famous phlegm pot cleaner, and he prophesised; _'The twenty first century is when everything changes._' I'm beginning to think that he was being a little more accurate than usual."

"Why? What were the normal prophecies?" Artemis asked curiously as he turned the computer on standby and stood up.

Holly stood too and they walked out of the door and down to the kitchen where Butler, Juliet and the twins were sitting and eating dessert. "Oh, about Mud Men kidnapping fairies." Holly answered causally and they both laughed.

* * *

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of feet below the surface, and twelve years in the past, Opal Koboi woke up in the prototype of her HoverBoy chair. She rubbed her eyes and then stretched her arms before pressing a button on the arm of the chair. The wall sized screen on the opposite side of the room switched on to the news channel.

A blond, generically pretty looking sprite stood in front of a cordoned off area of a street somewhere in the city. The walls of the street were scorched and the ground was chewed up and riddled with tunnels. "_And here I stand, the goblin dwarf gang wars could be flaring up once more. The third fight in the past two weeks, which is in contrast to the peak of the last period of fighting where the average was considerably higher...I have just heard that the B'wa Kell have taken responsibility for this event and they..." _

Opal muted her voice and rapped her fingers on the side of the arm chair, "The B'wa Kell..." She said out loud, "Now, wouldn't they like to rule Haven?"

She pressed another button on the side of the arm rest and the HoverBoy's thrusters moved her forwards to the computer bank underneath the large screen. "They can bring down the ridiculous LEP, little toy soldiers...Hmmm, I may need a little help in organising the cannon fodder, repulsive goblins. Someone who can deal with their stupidity...ooh, I think I know." She smiled slowly as she spun out a keyboard from the side of the chair.

"Queen Opal." She said a little dreamily, "Does have a certain regal ring to it." She tapped on the keyboard, "Oh, I almost forgot, I shall have to crush that loathsome centaur." She rasped, before continuing to tap on the side of the HoverBoy. "And this needs an upgrade, perhaps mood lights and music."

_The End_

* * *

_I've finished! :D _

_If you want to read more, I point you to my profile which has more stories in both cannons and I'm working on another one shot crossover involving both :D Let's just say it involves ghosts!_


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